"Toto"

Yosuga stood at the railing and peered down from top of the roof. The wind tapped against her patsy face, sending chills down her spine. If she lost her balance for one second, she could roll over and fall.

"Huh?" The boy looked up at her, with a slice of pizza stuck in his mouth.

"Say, if I jump from here, will I die?" She asked, her eyes reaching to the ground. She already pictured herself crossing over the fence and leaping out into the air. She would fly and the gravity would pull her down all at once, crushing her cranium and fracturing her bones. She would die in agony with excessive loss of blood.

"No." Toto said almost instantly. "Because onee-chan's branch of sin will open a shield for you and if it doesn't, I'll jump with you and catch you when you fall."

Yosuga nodded. She knew he would say that.

"Are you sure you don't want the last chicken wing?" The boy sniggered.

"No. You can have it."

"That's so kind of you, nee-chan." Toto gleefully devoured his food.

"Toto, Yosuga's going to die." She sighed, sitting down next to him. The boy seemed oblivious to her sorrow. He carried on eating.

"Why?"

"The date's set." Yosuga explained. "Yosuga is going to the Carnival Corpse next week and she's going to get killed."

"No, she isn't." Toto affirmed, wiping his mouth with his palms. He took a sip of his orange juice.

"Yes, she is."

"No!" Toto yelled, which startled her. She gazed at him in horror. His eyes were piercing her as he leaned forward.

"You won't die because I won't let you die." He said firmly with a frown.

"And why do you even care?" Yosuga retorted. "I've just known you for a week and you start calling me onee-chan and all that. That's really getting on my nerves. I don't know why you're taking me so seriously. Yousga never said she needs a brother anyway."

The boy paused just glancing at her. Their eyes met. For some reason, her heart was racing. She thought he would be pissed but he wasn't. He just sighed and shook his head.

"That really hurts, nee-chan." He lay back. "If you don't want me to call you onee-chan, I'll call you Yosuga. But then that'll be different because I don't need any friends. I just need a sister."

"That doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't have to make sense, does it?"

Well, he was right. If she didn't care much about anything, why would she bother about making sense?

"Do you have a sister? I mean, for real."

Toto didn't answer. Instead, he just stood up and stretched his arms. Without a word, he started walking away.

"Toto, where're you going?"

"Meh, nee-chan doesn't need me, so I'm leaving."

"But I'm not…" She tried to grab him. He stopped and stared at her. "Well, yes or no?"

"What?" She asked, dumbfounded.

"Be my nee-chan or we won't see again. I won't bother you anymore if you think I'm a trouble to you." He asserted.

"But…"

"Yes or no?"

She couldn't understand why he was so persistent and stubborn. If she let him go, he probably wouldn't come back again. It would be like they had never met. Would she want that to happen? Is it what she wished?

"Y-Yes." She finally nodded, succumbing to the pressure he gave her. His mouth gradually curved into a cheesy smile and he embraced her, jigging with ecstasy. She blushed at his sudden cuddle. She had never been hugged by someone before.

"It doesn't matter you win or not because as said, onee-chan is such a weakling." Toto sneered. "I will win every battle for you. I won't let you die."

For years, she wandered without a reason to live. Even then, she still didn't know why she was living. But this newly acquainted 'brother' somewhat faltered her determination to die. Could she really win in the Carnival Corpse?


The day before her fight, Toto broke into her room. Again.

"Toto!" She hissed. The boy dashed towards her and forced her mouth open, sliding a candy down her cavity.

"Emmmm…" Yosuga struggled but Toto made her swallow it.

"W-Why…" She gasped, pushing him away.

"Because I knew you would do that." Toto said, hands on his hips. "Onee-chan doesn't want to join the Carnival Corpse so she wants to poison herself to death by not taking the candy."

"Damn it. Nobody fucking told you to ruin my plan!" Yosuga cried, tossing the first thing in her sight at the boy, which turned out to be a vase. The vase crashed onto his chest and splintered into pieces. The glass shards left a lesion on his cheek. Blood dripped down his chin.

She gawked at him in dismay, waiting for him to retaliate with his branch of sin, but he didn't. He just stood there, motionless and silent. His expression was hurt and heart-breaking.

"I-I…"

Immediately, Yosuga regretted what she did. She rushed to him and examined his wound. "I..I'm so sorry, Toto." Blood kept spilling out from his cut but he didn't seem to feel any pain. He just ogled her, touching her hair with his hand.

"The stitches…they are broken." She said, shocked to realize she had cut open one of Toto's sewn wound.

"Never mind that." He brushed away her hand, smiling. "I'll do a bit of surgery on myself later."

"Why must you do this?"

"Because we will live together." He said naively. "If you can't earn any candies, I will earn them for you just as I will fight and kill for you. Oh I almost forgot to say- I've won again today! So you should win tomorrow as well! I know you will!"

"Will I?" She leered sarcastically. Even she had no idea what her branch of sin would do. She had no control of her own power. Her own sin might as well accidentally kill herself and she would be pleased to die.

"Of course you will."

"Come over here, I'll help stitch back your wound." She said, pulling him to the bedside.

"Say, Toto, if…. Yosuga really gets killed tomorrow, what will you do?" She asked curiously while sewing his lesion.

Toto tilted his head, pretending to be in a deep thought.

"Nee-chan isn't going to get killed." He said.

"But what if…"

"If she is really killed, I'm going to kill whoever kills her." Toto said confidently.

"Toto is really strong, eh?" She smiled. If she were him, she would probably fear no death. But she would still prefer death. Life was a living hell for her. An endless ordeal.

"Toto's stronger when onee-chan's around."

"But even before I was here, you never lost."

"Not exactly. It's just because I never got into a real battle with Wretched Egg."

"The Wretched Egg?"

It was the first time Yosuga was told about the Wretched Egg. Toto spent the whole night explaining how he had been waiting for the opportunity to challenge and to defeat the Wretched Egg, who appeared to possess the most destructive branch of sin.

"They say I'm the only one comparable to it." Toto chuckled. "I came across it once but never got the chance to fight with it. It'll be thrilling to have a face-to-face dual with the Wretched Egg."

"Do you think you can win?" Yosuga asked.

"I don't know. Maybe." Toto answered as if it didn't matter to him. He just wanted a confrontation with the Wretched Egg, to test his power and to show his supremacy. That's all.

"Done."

Toto took a quick look at his wound and shrugged. "Thanks."

"Toto, why didn't you dodge?"

He smirked and poked her cheek. "Because I didn't see it coming."

Yosuga knew he was lying. She was not stupid to believe a skillful deadman like him could be hurt by a simple vase. He just didn't duck, for some reason, from her attack. And he didn't strike back either.

"I didn't know onee-chan would be angry at me." Toto admitted, playing with his fingers like a child. "I just wanted to feed you a candy."

"You really don't have to do that. Save the candies for yourself. I don't like the taste of it anyway."

"But everyone needs candies~ I'll bring you one every day." Toto said. "Can I stay over tonight? I don't feel like walking back to my room."

"What?" Yosugo exclaimed. Toto was already lying on her bed, thrashing about.

"Oh please, nee-chan. And shouldn't you make it up to me after you hurt me like that?" He croaked, holding onto one of her pillows.

"Fine. You've taken shower, right? I don't want any dirt on my bed."

"That's mean." Toto chuckled. "I'm clean as new."

"I'll take the coach." Yosuga rolled her eyes and walked away but Toto held her back.

"Shouldn't onee-chan sleep with me?" He asked.

"What?!"

Before Yosuga could protest, he had already hauled her to his side. Thunderstruck, she tried to pull away from him but he wrapped his arms around her. Seeing no point in struggling, she gave in and switched off the lights.

"It's been quite a while." Toto muttered, his eyes shut.

"Eh?"

"To sleep with onee-chan."

Yosuga scowled, reckoning he might be talking about his own biological sister. She believed he had one. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so keen on making a stranger his sister. Something awful must have happened to his real sibling. Perhaps she had passed away and got killed right in front of his eyes? That could be possible.

"Yea, whatever." Yosuga murmured back, clinging onto his warm body. It had been such a long time since someone lay beside her. She had always been alone after the disaster. Homeless. Powerless. Hopeless.

"Toto will give you luck tonight." The boy simpered, tightening his hold around her. "And you will surely win at the Carnival tomorrow."

Yosuga smiled and dozed off.


If there was one thing special about Toto was that what he said always came true. Yosuga could hardly believe it. She actually won in the Carnival Corpse. Indeed, it was out of everyone's expectations. The audience probably bet on her failure. Somehow, though, maybe due to Toto's blessings, she won. She didn't really manage to control her ability properly. She basically screwed up right in the middle of the match but her branch of sin had protected her. When she thought she was dying, her power opened up a shield and defended her, preventing her death. She was both relieved and disappointed. Relieved that the fight had ended. Disappointed that she was saved by her own branch of sin, something she didn't want in the first place...

She was injured, though not severely. This supernatural power was new to her and with every use of it, she lost a great deal of strength. Exhausted, she fainted. In her last consciousness, she saw her opponent lying dead a few meters away from her. She had killed someone. With her own hands. With her own blood.

When she regained her senses, she was in the medical room. Every inch of her body ached with unbearable pain. She felt her limbs wrapped in bandages and a large pad was stuck to her face. She fluttered her eyes, only to see a familiar face.

"Onee-chan!" Toto shouted with excitement. He hugged her merrily.

"Toto?" She whispered under her breath. "Did I die? Am I in hell right now?"

"Oh no! You didn't die." Toto said, giving her a light kiss on the forehead, which made her blush in embarrassment. "Like I said, you won! You won! Hehe~"

"Did I?"

"Yup! Want an apple, nee-chan?" Toto offered. Yosuga ignored him and groaned. "Why couldn't I die properly?"

"Eh?"

"Yosuga has nothing left. She's lost everything long before she realized it. And yet, everyone is keeping her alive against her own wills…why?"

Toto sighed.

"Do you really think there are people who have a reason to live?"

Yosuga widened her eyes incredulously and glared at him.

"You're not the only one who's ever wished to die." Toto said bleakly.

A stream of tears rolled down her eyes. She was confused, lost. She didn't know what to think anymore. To know she had always been alone in this world was tearing her apart. And to know she had never been able to die was afflicting her.

She clenched her eyes and began to whine, though it was an unpleasant idea to sob in front of someone. Toto dropped the apple and gulped.

"Yosuga?" It was one of those rare times he called out her name directly. She covered her face with both hands.

"S-Sorry." She turned away from him and whimpered. He bent over and took her hands. Her crying face lay bare in his sight. She quavered when he approached her and kissed her cheek, licking off her tears.

"Toto?!" She flinched automatically, stunned.

"If onee-chan can't find the reason to live, I'll find one for you." He smiled with a slight blush on his face.