A.N/ So it's summer, though schools starting again soon :-( and I just recently got back into the Karneval 'series' and was spam reading every fan fiction I could find and couldn't help but notice the lack of fan fiction there was for it. ! That's why I'm here to to write a little something of my own, well kind of my own lol this fic is kinda based off another fan fiction by 666angelofdarkness666 called "How it Could Have Been" but I thought I would throw in my own little pizazz and try and develop my own story! lol idk man! I'm not sure if many people will even read this but i guess I'm just writing this for my own pleasure? So ya the pairing will eventually be Gareki x Yogi because I adore them and, no shade to anyone who likes Gareki x Nai, I just don't seem them in a intimate relationship lol more like cute friends or brotherly love. Sorry i like yaoi oops!

Enjoy!

Trying to clean a floor is a helluva lot harder when wearing chains that chafe your wrists every time you move, but this was just one of the many laborious tasks Gareki had to perform everyday for his Master. Though he was considered one of the best fighters Kafka had ever seen, he was still the Master's pet and was, nonetheless, treated like a slave by everyone onboard. He'd been stuck on this ship for as long as he could remember and had endured just about every form of torture you could think of. When he was young his parents had abandoned him, selling him into child trafficking for a small lump sum of money. $50 to be exact. He was only worth $50 to his 'parents'. He was scrawny in comparison to the other kids onboard but he wasn't weak. He was actually quite intelligent even with his lack of an actual education since, when he wasn't being beaten, he was tinkering with scraps of metal, figuring out how the pieces worked. It fascinated him. But because he was different, the kids would bully him and steal his food, leaving Gareki to try and fend for himself with scraps of bread he'd find in the trash near his Master's suite. It wasn't ideal nutrition wise, but it ended up being a benefit to him when all the other children started to fall ill and die, some even turning into Varugas, after consuming the food they were served for all their lives. It was then that the Master on board realized that Gareki hadn't died nor turned into a Varuga and it was when his sick fascination with him began. But Gareki tried to repress those memories. He hated thinking about that.

Gareki hadn't realized he'd zoned out and stopped cleaning when he felt something hard smack across the back of his head which brought him out of his stupor. "Get back to work slave!" One of his Master's many guards shouted in his face. Gareki could already feel another headache coming on and simply just nodded in apology to the guard and went back to work. Gareki knew he could beat this guy's ass if he wanted to but he wasn't stupid. He wasn't going to get upset and let his emotions get the best of him because he had a plan to escape this ship and didn't want to ruin his chances even more on account of bad behavior. So, he went back to work. Scrubbing away at the tiles on the floor with only a cleaning scrub and some soapy water, which was practicality dirt water at this point. On the outside he was calm but his eyes narrowed further with every scrub as he relished in the idea of one day leaving this hell ship. There was nothing he wanted more than to see his Master dead.

Soon the one o'clock (p.m) bell rang and Gareki had finished cleaning the entirety of the floor on the ship. He was sweating and covered in dirt and grime at this point and was hoping his Master would be kind enough to let him bathe, if even for just a few seconds. It was a rare occasion when his Master would be nice to him though, and as long as Gareki kissed his Master's ass and groveled at his feet would he ever consider letting him rinse off in some water for a short while. But his Master was extra busy today since he was getting preparations in order for a banquet dinner he was hosting tonight which also meant Gareki had to work extra hard. But Gareki enjoyed whenever his Master had company over because that meant he would be left alone and out of sight since his Master didn't like to show him off. He was thought off as his Master's secret weapon since no one would ever suspect a slave to actually be a merciless killer and assassin. But that's exactly who Gareki was. At least that's who everyone thought he was. Deep down, whenever his Master forced him to kill, he'd feel a subtle twang of guilt in his heart. Though subtle, it was still there. Every time he took a life he pretended he didn't care on the outside, but on the inside he despised it. Though he'd never admit to it, he would often have nightmares of the innocent people whom he was forced to kill, their eye sockets bare and covered in blood. Each one crawling it's way towards him, grabbing onto his legs as he struggled to get away. He would ultimately be succumbed to the masses every time though. All 563 of them. He'd kept track of every single life he was forced to take. 'Don't think about it.' Gareki thought as he pressed a hand to his temple when he noticed his headache flaring up again. Thinking hurt too much.

Gareki was on his way back to his 'room', if you could even call it a room, so he could finally rest since he couldn't remember the last time he slept, when he heard yelling coming from the front of the ship. He started running on instinct, thinking this could be a chance to escape. He didn't realize he was smiling when he was running because the joy of escaping overcame him. But when he pushed through the doors, his mood dropped and his smile faltered. It was just his ass hat of a Master yelling at another one of his servants who dropped a tray of hors d'oeuvres all over the floor. Gareki stumbled back onto the wall and placed a hand to his head again, man he was such an idiot. He was so naive. He cursed himself for thinking he could finally escape and was also annoyed when he realized the state of the floor, which he'd just cleaned, was now covered in food.

"I-I I'm so sorry sir please forgive me!" The servant stuttered nervously, getting on his hands and knees to clean up the mess. Gareki could tell the boy was shaking. His Master on the other hand was silent and fuming. Then came the outburst Gareki knew all too well.

"YOU STUPID FUCKING BRAT!" The Master yelled, kicking the servant in the gut who Gareki could now see was a boy named Hitoshi. Gareki didn't know Hitoshi that well, just that he arrived on the ship about a year back and was older than him, probably by a couple of years.

"YOU ABSOLUTE SCUM! Where the hell is Gareki? GAREKI!" His master shouted, not realizing Gareki was already standing right behind him. This certainly wasn't helping his growing headache.

"Yes Master?" He asked, bowing behind his fat pig of a Master, putting on his innocent boy act. He mentally rolled his eyes at having to keep up his little charade of being the perfect pet but he knew he had to do it.

"Kill him." His Master stated, now much calmer than he was before, taking a cloth from his pocket to wipe off the nonexistent dirt from his hands. This annoyed Gareki.

"Of course Master." Gareki stood up and sighed. Goddammit he really didn't feel like killing anyone right now. The only person he'd love to kill right now was his Master but orders were orders and he had to do what he was told. It only took Gareki about 3 seconds to grab the gun from his waist, point it at his target, and shoot the boy in the head. Point-blank. The blood spilled across the floor and some even landed onto Gareki's face.

564. Another face to add to the nightmares.

He heard obnoxious laughter from behind him but Gareki didn't have to turn his head to know it was the gluttonous laugh of his Master.

"Now clean this shit up before my guests arrive."

The door closed behind him. Gareki was alone once again.

Gareki let his knees give out and shoulders slump as he kneeled in front of his latest kill, his eyes held no emotion. This boy didn't deserve to die, Gareki knew that, but he had to obey his orders. It was the only thing he could do.. right? Sighing once again, Gareki leaned over to close Hitoshi's eyes which had been open in fear, and looked up towards the sky. 'It looks like it might rain.' he thought before getting back to cleaning the floor and disposing of the body.

By the time he was finished cleaning, if the thought of eating had ever crossed his mind, it was now gone. He wasn't in the mood for scraps of food anyway. He just wanted to get cleaned off and go to sleep, was that too much to ask for? Gareki figured he would just go back towards his 'room' where he was headed before this incident so he could be out of the way for when the guests came. As he was walking down the hall towards his room located below the deck, he stole a glance at one of the clocks that lined the walls. It was 5:45 (pm) that meant the banquet guests would be arriving soon. Dammit.

When he made it back to his room he was atleast a little thankful to see a tub of water in which he could clean himself off with. There was a letter next to it from his Master but he didn't care to read it. He was sure it was just his Master commending him for his kill earlier. This made Gareki shudder but he pushed all other thoughts aside and just focused on getting cleaned up. He had to scrub extra hard on his face where he was squirted with Hitoshi's blood which was a pain in the ass. He had to admit though that the water did feel nice and was a refreshing contrast from the rest of the day he'd had.

When he was all cleaned up he got dressed and sat down on his bed, if you could even call it a bed. His 'room' wasn't even really a room but a broom closet that was transformed into a living space (A.N/ more like dying space haha!... i'll go home). There was a small window but all that could be seen through it was the vast depths of the ocean. Gareki didn't like to stare at the ocean for too long or else memories he'd tried so hard to repress would resurface. With a shake of his head, he focused back on his room and leaned back onto his bed though that was basically just a pile of dirty rags and scraps. It was terribly uncomfortable but he was used to it. It's not like he deserved anything better anyways.

Gareki thought about reading a book for a while to pass the time but right when he was about to open one up, he heard the bass of music blasting from upstairs. "I guess the party started." He sighed and opted to just put the book down and stood up. There was no way he'd be able to focus enough attention to read with the noise going on upstairs and there was also no way he'd be able to get some shut eye either which pissed him off. Gareki was a very light sleeper. He had to be.. after everything that had happened.

Suddenly his stomach growled and he realized he hadn't eaten anything all day. It's not like this never happened before but for some reason he was persistent on finding something to eat and it wasn't helping that the sweet smell of the kitchen was wafting into his room from the vents. "Dammit this is gonna be a pain in the ass." Gareki cursed with a sigh, he'd been doing a lot of sighing lately. He was going to have to be extra careful to not be seen by any of the guests if he wanted to venture above deck to get something to eat. Before he left though, he grabbed his goggles thats he usually kept hidden. 'Maybe they'll serve as a good luck charm?', he thought as he closed the door behind him.