Oh my god...I killed him...I thought we were just playing!

Thirteen year old Ivan Braginsky stood with one hand over his mouth, as he stared in shock at the dead body of Gilbert Beilschmidt, a slightly older boy at the age of fourteen. The German had challenged Ivan to a fight. Ivan assumed it was friendly, but after finding that Gilbert really wanted to physically hurt him, things got hideous. Apparently, Gilbert was ticked, for Ivan had accidentally embarrassed him at school when he spilled cafeteria food on the albino's new hoodie, and his jeans. In the fight, Gilbert grabbed Ivan's neck, and he defended. Ivan had sent his bony fist flying into his temple, thus ending his life. Apparently, the blow was just strong enough to be fatal, but it's not uncommon for a punch to the temple to be fatal, it is a vital area that lacks the protection for the brain.

"K-Katyusha!" he shrieked in horror, falling to his knees.

"Ivan, what is it?" his sweet older sister greeted her younger brother in the yard, beholding a magnificent, uplifting smile, only to be shattered by the sight of a teenage boys corpse lying next to her dear younger sibling.

"Oh my god, Ivan, what happened to him?!" she screamed, checking for a pulse, but to only find that his heart is not moving.

At this point, Ivan had tears swelling up in his eyes. His face flushed as he began to cry. This was scary! He knew he was going to get in trouble for a crime that, in all fairness, was not completely his fault, but more so, Gilbert's.

"H-He came over t-to our h-house, Katyusha! I-I didn't m-mean to k-kill him!" he cried, rubbing his eyes with his fists. Ivan was not known for showing his times of weakness, but this was hard to contain.

"Dear brother, y-you killed this boy?" she asked, putting a hand on her heart in a startled manner.

"Y-Yes...but I d-didn't mean t-to! H-He sh-showed up a-asking for me t-to fight...I th-thought w-we were playing! T-Then, he g-grabbed m-my throat and h-he was gonna s-strangle me! I h-had to defend m-myself, I d-didn't think I'd k-kill him!" he spoke rapidly and frantically, as if he were being timed.

"H-How did you kill him?" she asked, putting a hand on her weeping brother's shoulder.

"I-I...hit his...t-temple..." he whimpered in shame, covering his eyes and shaking his head, wishing the whole world would just disappear.

Katyusha had nothing else to say. Staring at the body, she worried. For Ivan. She believed him, when he said it was an accident, for she knew her brother was a very trustworthy boy, at least towards her. But the cops, the judge, government law...they don't know that.

Phoning in the boys parents, Ivan's older sister had decided she'd let Gilbert's folks deal with everything else. Ivan was ordered to stay in a jail cell at the juvenile detention center until his "judgement day". This day soon came. There weren't many witnesses, which could be a very good thing for him, or a very bad thing. The judge had called up Katyusha to the stand.

"Miss Braginsky, it is true, da? That you are the person who takes care of Ivan Braginsky?" the judge asked. They were sort of ignoring the fact that she was, legally speaking, not old enough to be a legal guardian, for until this information proved important or nessicary, they will keep quiet.

She simply nodded, "Da, it is true, sir."

"So I trust you were watching over him the day of the murder?"

"Da."

"Did you see him do the crime or did he confess to you?"

Giving Ivan a sad look, she nodded. This made her feel guilty, like she just betrayed her own family member. But Ivan knew she was under oath, and did not blame her.

"Da, he did confess to me. But he also said it was an accident!"

"An accident?"

"Sir, it was!"

"Give me the details."

A little hope settled back into her heart. If he was charged with "involuntary man-slaughter, the penalty will be not as bad.

"He told me that the boy picked a fight with him. Assuming it was a play-fight, he willingly accepted his challenge. If I remember correctly, he told me the boy tried to strangle him, and he defended himself by punching his temple, thinking that it wouldn't kill him."

"Interesting..."

He called up a few more witnesses, none knowing anything about this. But Natalia tried to demand that Ivan was freed. Then, the judge called up one of the Braginskys' neighbors.

"Can you tell us anything about this whole case, ma'am?"

The woman had a strict facial expression, it was rather freaky looking. Her brown hair was tied back and she wore a pearl necklace. Her dress was gray like her soul.

"I can see why it'd make sense that Ivan Braginsky would kill someone by accident."

"Oh?"

"I fear that the child may have something mentally troubling him."

Ivan stared at her in disbelief. If she gives him anything that may make him seem insane, they'll announce him as not guilty due to reason of insanity, and they'll lock him up in a mental institution!

"I've noticed that Ivan had exhibited somewhat...sociopathic behavior. And I've seen how he rough he acts around other children. He landed a few in the hospital, and now he's landed someone in the grave. His mind is broken.

"I object!" Ivan shouted, glaring.

"Enough, Ivan. I've made up my mind," the judge announced.

"Now, I pronounce Ivan Braginsky—"

"I can't believe that bitch of a neighbor landed me in the mental institution!" Ivan growled as Katyusha buttoned up his long coat.

"Isn't it better than the Juvenile Detention Center? And besides, you may make new friends!"

"If I wanna be friends with someone who was mental issues, I just hang out with Natalia..."

"Ivan, don't be mean!"

Natalia was standing nearby and heard what he said, but completely ignored it.

They heard the sound of car wheels pulling up in their frozen driveway. It was Ivan's ride. Katyusha kissed him on the head goodbye, and Natalia...kissed him on the lips, to Ivan's horror. His older sister helped him with his bags and tied his favorite scarf around his neck.

"Remember, eat three full meals a day, drink plenty of fluids, don't act rude around the other children your age—"

"Big sis, I'll be okay."

The driver drove him away. Keeping his arms folded, Ivan stared out the window at the piles and piles of snow. It looked so fun. Fuck.

"So, how's it feel driving around mentally sick people all the time?" Ivan asked casually, with his nose to the window.

"I don't do this all the time. Now pipe down, I need to keep my focus on the road."

Ivan grumbled. He shuffled through his bag to find a gray, cotton blanket and immediately wrapped it around his body. Even with the thick coat he wore, he was shaking with coldness. The thick blanket seemed to be of some help, but it was still outrageously cold.

After one long, freezing car drive earlier, they had finally arrived at the mental fucking institution. It was huge. Maybe it's so big to fit in more torture chambers or something...

"Get your stuff, you've already been registered so I'm gonna show you around," the apparently "not full time driver" said with no emotion whatsoever.

As I followed my guide into the building, something caught my eye. I looked behind me. A fluffy cat sat right in front of him. The cat's coat was grayish brown, with a bit of white in the front. It's eyes were the same shade of purple as his own. It was pretty adorable...quickly, Ivan scooped it up in his bag. He knew animal interaction wouldn't be possible for a long time if he hadn't done this, even though he may get in trouble. When the cat was completely concealed, he ran to catch up with the guide.

"Uh, so why do I go here instead of a mental institute set aside for kids?" he asked noticing some gross looking adult patients. He strongly disliked and distrusted adults (he's trying to distance himself from his guide).

"I dunno kid, this place has a part of it for kids," she answered in a sort of half-assed way.

"Oh...um, okay?" he wasn't sure if that was really the answer he was looking for.

After one painfully boring tour over a painfully boring building with a painfully boring guide, he finally directed him to his room. When he opened the door...it looked like a super lame hotel room.

"Y'know, I'm gonna die here..."

"Uh-huh..." the guide shut the door and left.

Ivan began unpacking, and let his cat run around. In his bag, he found a picture of him and his sisters when they were younger and hung it up. With a scowl, he pulled out his ugly sweater that Katyusha insisted he took with him. He considered throwing it in a trash can here but decided not to, for his sister had knitted it for him.

Collapsing on the bed, he let out a huge sigh. A sorta "fuck the world, it's a bitch" sigh. "Already missing my sisters" kinda sigh. "My life sucks" kinda sigh..."I'm all alone" kinda sigh.