"Do you have rocks for brains?!"

Despite my insult, and harsh tone of voice, I was down on my knees carefully inspecting the deep cut on the brat's right side. It wasn't bleeding at an alarming rate, but it was still bad.

"No! My head'd be too heavy if I did!" He snapped back, taking it literally, but I could tell he was in pain. "I just wanted t' find somethin' t' make Tinker look cooler!" He held up the little robot he had built, and I heaved a sigh.

No matter how many times I had warned him not to traverse the scrap heap, he always ignored it. It was like he was a magnet for trouble, and it was going to be the death of me. I couldn't turn my back for five minutes without him causing trouble.

I'm twelve, god dammit! I shouldn't have to deal with this!

But I did, completely of my own accord, too. It had been the better part of a year since I had found the kid dangling from the branches of a tree, and since then we had spent almost every waking moment together.

"The cut's covered in rust...Come on, we have to go wash it out at the river." With a grunt, mostly from the effort of standing, I picked him up and began to carry him off.

He'd scarcely grown over the past months. A real runt. Feeding myself had already been a challenge, but now meals were even fewer and farther between, because he needed it more than I did.

"What were ya doin'?" His grammar hadn't improved much either, but we had been working on it. Just because he lived on the streets didn't mean he had to talk like a moron.

"Going through the baker's trash to see if there was anything to feed your scrawny ass." I replied truthfully. For the most part I didn't try to sugar coat things, save for the more brutal violence. That was something he should be spared of.

"Find anythin?" The kid's tone was hopeful, and I felt a pang of guilt in my gut.
"Sorry, kiddo. All I got was a beat down with a rolling pin..." I left out the part where the baker and his son had me on the ground, kicking me like I was a diseased dog. My whole body hurt, but that wasn't his problem.

"We should kill 'im for that." It was too late to get him out of the habit of jumping straight to aggression, but it wasn't so bad. At least not whilst we lived in such a dangerous area.
"Nah, they aren't worth the hassle. Besides, you're not gonna be killing anyone." I nudged at his head with my own as we walked, and he scoffed.

"Only reas'n I ain't done it yet is cuz nobody's dumb enough to fuck with me..." Instead of a nudge this time I flicked him right between the eyes, glaring as harshly as possible.
"Watch your damn language!" Sure, he probably picked some of it up from me, but I had a responsibility to at least try to raise him right.

Once we reached the river I set the kid down upon the bank before rolling up my pant legs so I could stand in the running water. It wasn't exactly clean, but it was all we had to work with. There wasn't even a doctor in this godforsaken town.
"It looks gross."

He wasn't wrong. It was common knowledge that the river was contaminated, but what other choice did we have? The water was thick and murky with only god knew what, but I still crouched down and lifted the boy's shirt before beginning to clean his wound.

"Listen, you need to tell me if you start feeling sick, okay? If this turns septic, then it'll be real bad. I don't have money to get you seen by a doctor." I explained as sternly as I could, even though I knew he wasn't paying full attention by the way he kicked his feet, splashing my shirt.

"Quit babyin' me! I'm strong! No cut's gonna take me down!" He snapped proudly, sticking his nose in the air. I just heaved a sigh, doing my best to get as much rust out of his side as I possibly could.

Let's hope you're right...

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"Please..! You can see he's really sick! Medicine, clean water, a..anything?!"

My worst fear had come true. The kid's wound had turned septic. It had happened so quickly. One moment he was fine, then the next he spiked a fever, and could barely move.

The middle aged man looked down at us in disgust as I held the boy in my arms, his nose crinkling and teeth baring.
"Git outta here, ya filthy brats! None've my business!" He sharply swept his hand out to shoo us off before slamming the door in our faces.

I'd tried so many doors.

So many people.

Every single one of them had said something similar.

"P..Please..." My voice came out in a broken whisper as I stared at dirty wood and rusting hinges, the unnatural heat of the child's body against my chest reminding me that there wasn't much time.

So many people, and not one of them gave a shit about a dying little boy. It made me so mad, but at the same time, I felt helpless. I'd taken on the responsibility of looking after him, and I'd failed. I wasn't even grown myself, but I sure felt like I was. I was supposed to know what to do.

But I don't...I can't...

I was exhausted. For two days I had been carrying the kid around, desperately begging anyone who would even spare us a glance for some kind of help. The only thing I could do was collapse against a wall and pray that by some miracle he'd survive.

"Killer..." I immediately looked down through my fringe at the frail little boy who shifted in my lap, my hand moving to rest upon his head.
"Hey...It's okay, buddy..." I murmured, knowing that my voice was betraying my words. "I just need a sec to rest my legs, then I'll get you some medicine, a..alright..?"

The kid's breath hitched with every intake, and his eyes seemed so far away as he stared up at me. So close to death.
"Is...someone get...gettin' some for us..?" He asked weakly, hopefully, so much so that it made my heart break.

I forced myself to nod. I hated lying to him, but what else was there for me to do? I didn't want to tell him that he probably wasn't going to make it. I didn't want to tell myself that, either.
"Yeah...so just hang in there, okay? Rest up. I'm r..right here..."

When he closed his eyes again, I mentally prepared myself for the likelihood that they would never open again. If we had been born anywhere else, then maybe, just maybe, he could have had access to the things he needed. Not just medicine, but food, water, a warm place to lay his head. Parents who loved him. Not a scruffy punk not five years his senior who had no idea what he was doing.

The shadows of passers by fell so heavy as they drifted over our forms, motionless and invisible in the dark. Filth amongst filth. That was all we were to them, and all we ever would be. The future of this lawless country, if we even managed to survive it at all.

Somewhere inside of me that anger festered and boiled, but I was just too tired to set it loose. Too broken down and beaten. I had never really had anything to live for, except for spite. That was until the kid stumbled into my life.

What was the point? Why were we even there at all, living and breathing? We never chose to be born, but all we did was suffer for it. I didn't care about myself. I was used to how my existence was, but the kid? Left to die because nobody in this damn town looked out for anybody but themselves? It was sick. Twisted. Wrong.

"Oi."

I barely had the will left in me to look up, but when I managed to, I saw a boy not much older than myself standing a few feet away. No, two boys. One wore a black cloak over his shoulders, and the other had silver hair tangled to his shoulders.

More punks. Here to finish us off?

Slowly, the cloaked boy stepped forward and crouched a little, tossing a crinkled paper bag in front of us.
"He's got an infection, right? Antibiotics. Stole it from the town over a few days ago. Looks like he needs it more than we do."

I stared between the boys and the bag, rightly sceptical. Nobody was generous here. Nobody. Why would I trust them?
"Sure it is..." I forced myself to shift a little, taking a more protective position over the sickly boy in my lap.

"I get it. Trust us or don't, but the brat'll die if you say no." The boy sighed, backing away to stand by the one who was yet to speak, who nodded in agreement. "You know I'm right."

I did, and that was the hard part. If I trusted them, and it turned out to be some kind of poison, then I'd be killing the kid myself. If I ignored them, then he'd die anyway. My hands were tied.

"Why..?" It was all I could ask. Why were they taking pity on us? Why were they giving us something that, to homeless nobodies like us, was worth the same as gold?

"Don't get the wrong idea. This isn't charity. Just sick to death of how shit is around here." Shrugging his shoulders, the boy with the cape turned and started to walk away. "Come on, Heat."

The moment they were out of sight I carefully leant forward and took the bag, biting down hard as I pushed myself to stand up. My body ached, and I was dizzy, but if what they had given us was really what they said it was, then I couldn't pull it out in the street.

It felt like an eternity, the trip back to our little corner of nowhere, and I very nearly collapsed again after laying the kid down on our makeshift bed of burlap and dried grass.

Opening the paper bag, I had to blink myself out of my initial shock. Vials of labelled antibiotics, and the bagged syringes to administer them. It seemed legitimate, but there was only one way to know for sure.

"Please...let this be real...Come on, kid..."

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"Hurry up, Killer! They dumped a bunch'a new stuff here this mornin'!"

Two weeks had passed, and the kid was back to his usual, feral self. Normally, I would have been annoyed by his extreme energy, but after the scare we had had, I was overjoyed to see him back in action.

The antibiotics had done their job, and paired with my thievery of semi-clean water and leftover food, he'd made a full recovery. It had been touch and go for the first few days of his back-alley treatment, and I had been scared to so much as blink, but now there he was, leaping and bounding over scrap and garbage, alive and well.

"O..Oi! Be careful..! If you get another infection I'm just gonna leave you in the gutter!" I barked, but it was an obvious lie. The near loss of him had made me realise just how much I had come to care for the little bastard.

"I ain't makin' the same mistake twice! Quit worryin'!" All I could see was a streak of matted red as the boy darted around the scrap heap, in his element. It brought a smile to my face.

"Hey, guys. Been a while." Looking up, I spotted a familiar face sitting upon a discarded refrigerator unit, legs kicking. Without my consent, my hand moved to sweep my fringe from my eyes, and I smiled even more.

"Oh, h..hey, Victoria..!" Had my voice raised in pitch a little? It sure had, but I was at least around the age where I could pin it on puberty. The freckle faced girl snickered a little, turning away from me when my companion hollered out.

"Victoria! Yo! Ya miss me?! I almost died!" The little ball of chaos jumped up and down on the spot a few yards away, grinning ear to ear.
"Damn, I'm glad ya didn't!" Victoria stood up and jumped down from her perch, and I very nearly moved to catch her. Not that she needed it.

"If I'd did, I wouldn't be able t' marry ya!" His words shouldn't have irritated me as much as they did, but there I was, begging my face not to screw up into a scowl. Victoria snorted loudly, rolling her eyes as she kicked a stray coil.
"You're what? Five?"

My wheeze and his gasp of offence clashed together, and the brat balled his fists by his sides.
"I ain't five! I'm...Killer, how old am I?!" Sidling up beside our friend, I shrugged, amused that she'd knocked him down a few pegs so easily.
"Eight, I think. Something like that. You're still too young, though."

Victoria nodded firmly, hands on her hips. She always looked so prideful, and that was one of the many things I admired about her.
"Yup! You're too young, and he's too old!"

Exactly. Wait...what?!

It took me a few moments to realise that she was referring to me, and I was too late to catch myself from visibly deflating.
"Anyway, that doesn't matter. You guys hungry? We have leftover curry udon from last night. My dad did some work for some big gang and got paid pretty well, so I bet he won't mind. Plus he's out so he won't know."

The second the kid heard the mention of food he came sprinting over, grabbing both mine and Victoria's wrists before dragging us along behind him.
"Hell yeah, we are! Come on come on come on come on!" He yelled at us to get a move on, and that we did.

Things, finally, were looking up for us. They weren't great, but they were getting a little better. That was all I could ask for. All the kid needed. I'd let him drag me around wherever if it meant he could be happy. That was what was important.

"Alright, alright! Jeez, kid, I don't know how I'm ever gonna keep up with you..!"

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"You...really did save his life..." I murmured, eyes still glued to where I was sure his were beneath his helmet. They hadn't moved since he had started speaking.

Killer shrugged, shoulders rolling slightly as he turned to look out at the horizon.
"Anyone with half a heart would've done the same thing. Nothin' special." He replied, nothing showing through his voice. He was good at being mysterious.

"Still. You're a really amazing person, Killer. I mean it." I smiled, hoping he'd at least accept the compliment, but he just stayed quiet, a slight whistle coming from the wind blowing into the holes of his helmet. "So...Kid just kinda stuck as a name, huh?"

Nodding, Killer tapped the toe of his boot to the wood below us, a slight puff of air sounding his version of a chuckle.
"Yeah, it just fits him, right? It was either that or little shit." I had to laugh at that, because it also would have suited the guy.

"Hey, wait a sec, that girl, Victoria...and this ship..." I let my question fade out when I noticed Killer tense up. I didn't want to overstep, but it was a little too late to retract what had already been said.

"Oi! Killer?! Where are ya?!"

From down below, Kid called out for his companion, and Killer sighed, moving away from the edge and over towards the ladder leading down to the deck.
"That's something for another time. Be careful coming down, okay? The wind's strong and I don't want you falling."

He left me in the crow's nest with a slight nod and a lingering look, and I turned to face the rolling sea, the scent of salt keeping me from delving deeper into my own head.

Well, that's something at least. Maybe one day Kid will tell me about his own past himself...But, for now, I feel like I know him a little better...

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***Sorry it took so long (and is messily written). Work is murdering me. Christmas in retail sucks.

Decided Victoria was two years older than Kid and two younger than Killer. Just thought it fit better. Might do more flash backs at some point but I always get it all jumbled and it never seems to fit together well.

Next Time: Forgive and Forget***