You Are What You Eat
The boy sat there, motionless. His small knees pressed onto his chest and he had his arms wrapped around his legs in an effort to keep them where he wanted. In and out he breathed; a process he didn't need to think about. From his exhaled breath grew a small burst of steam that was released into the cold air all around him.
He didn't know when she'd be back, and he didn't want to wait any longer.
The boy pulled his hood farther and farther on his head, stretching the fabric to the point a number of strands that made it up broke. It was an old hoodie he wore, as he couldn't afford another. His sister had the same problem with her clothes. They tore and broke from being on their bodies all day and night. They were all they had clothes wise, and couldn't get different ones.
His hand slightly trembling at the piercing cold, the boy raised his hand and brushed off the overgrown blue bangs on his forehead. How they annoyed his sister. She would always pin his front locks up onto the top of his head. She had even once told him to cut them right off, but the young one couldn't bring himself to do it. For some reason he loved them.
Or, did he? After all, he barely knew what love was in the first place.
Moments passed in the silence of the dark and cold alley. The young boy was not totally capable of counting, but he knew the basics. What better way than to show his older sister how smart he was by showing off his counting ability. As an added bonus, he'd even get to stop thinking about the dangers of where he was and just be able to calm his over-active mind.
1…
2…
3…
A dog barked not too far away.
4…
5…
A woman entered a cooking shop next-door.
6…
7…
A man who smelled of blood was nervously walking past the alley.
8…
9…
10…
The young boy hung his head low. He couldn't count to anything higher.
"Hey, I got the food."
The young boy looked up at his sister, her face stern. She had finally returned, food in her hands.
"Ah, Onee-san, you got some blo-"
The girl hushed up her little brother, intent on not being reminded of what they were eating. "Y-Yeah, I know. If I go sit in the snow it'll wash out, I promise you."
The small boy nodded at her and took his share of food. Nothing else was edible to him than this. "Onee-san…" He said, his words half-muffled by food still in his mouth. "What are we…Onee-san…We aren't regular…"
His sister nodded her head. She had yet to take a bit out of her share. "It's true…we aren't regular…but I once heard a saying…"
"A saying?" Her brother repeated, his eyes gazing intently on her. "What is it?"
"Well…" She took a bite out of her food and gave a small smile to her brother. "It goes…'you are what you eat'".
"Ayato! Hurry the hell up!"
The small boy was now a young man. He threw on his mask to conceal the bottom part of his face. If the police saw what his features, he'd be captured and killed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Shut up though…"
The young man gave a short sigh. Oh, how he was hungry for death. The scent of blood on the battlefield did indeed entice him. "Oh, Touka…" He muttered, his thoughts on his older sister. He hated her now, as she had lied to him in more ways than one. "You lied…I'm not what I eat…I'm no human…I'm a Ghoul…"