The Reaping

[Yukki Kazuto]

I pick the fork up off of the table, and begin playing with it restlessly as I tell my story. “It’s not that I’m tired of life. In fact… I would say it’s because i’m grateful to be able to live it.” Princess Hellstab looks at me patiently, obviously not pleased with my attempt to dodge the question. I let out a small sigh.  


“Years ago, when I was a little younger than you are now, I was living out on the streets. Finding food by digging through trashcans and dumpsters, relying on handouts and scraps. I was puny, and everyone thought that it was certain that I was going to die.” I notice that I’m no longer looking at her highness, and glance up to see if she’s still paying attention. She is.


“It was during that time that I learned certain skills that the average person doesn’t. I learned how to pickpocket people walking on the streets. I learned how to pick locks using a set of lockpicks I had stolen from a store. I spent a year living that way. Until one day, when I made a mistake.” I let go of the fork, and it clangs as it hits the table.


“One afternoon, I was sifting through a crowd of people, taking what I could. A wallet here, a watch there, until finally, someone caught me…” I pick the fork back up, and resume playing with it. “I had tried to take a ring from her, and she stopped me. She quickly noticed that I had the makings of a great thief, and her being one herself, took me in.”


I think back to how it had felt to be taken to her skyscraper, to be introduced to her partner Reuben, and to go through extensive training from the both of them. “She and her partner trained me themselves, her training me how to steal, him training me how to kill. I became excellent at both. It didn’t take long until we were all working together on jobs, stealing from and eliminating some of the biggest companies and corporations in the world.”


I pause here momentarily, unsure of exactly how much I want to tell. “It was around that time that I was brought here, to the Omniverse. Once here, I found her partner, and we had a falling out. I spent some time looking, but I never found Her…” Princess Hellstab notices that I have begun subconsciously rubbing a gold ring on my left hand.


I’m about to continue when the waitress comes back with our food. Anxious to take my mind off of my past, I bite into the food. I gag momentarily, and force myself to swallow.


“She wasn’t lying. That really is terrible.”