Cloaked in a black-stained-red coat, Kojo stalked the empty street. A whimper drew his interest down the cracked pavement. He slept, a misstep in his eyes no matter how vital, and now an unknown factor could influence his daily life. It was unacceptable.
He drew his pocket knife and popped the double-edged blade out of its handle when he reached the alley entrance.
The cry languished again.
Lifting the blade up, he peeked inside.
A pit bull terrier curled around several still balls of fur by a wall.
His eyes focused on the added fluff.
They were her dead newborn pups.
He stepped out in front of the entrance.
The pit bull turned and bared her teeth.
He stood his ground.
She lifted herself up and growled.
Kojo took a deep breath.
Barking, the girl made her intentions clear.
He was still one moment and driving his fist into her leaping snout the next, shattering her nose with her own force added to his.
She yelped as she crashed to the ground.
Holding her down with his bodyweight by knee, he stabbed her in the left-most side of her neck. He secured her head with his free hand before running the blade through to the other side of her throat.
The pit bull struggled for three seconds before losing consciousness.
Kojo shifted himself off the dying dog's body to the alley wall. His eyes locked on to the still faces of the dead pups.
They were apathetic to the world, not that they could be anything else. From then and into eternity they would know neither the warmth of their mother's love nor the pain brought by living through adversity. Circumstances beyond their control ensured they would never be.
He looked to the mother's bleeding corpse and hummed.
Together, they rested by that rotting street.
"What's wrong?" The grey soldier asked from his chair.
Kojo turned back. He was staring out at nothing for several minutes since he arrived. "Nothing."
"Thinking?"
He nodded.
"About what?"
"I killed a dog yesterday. She gave birth to dead puppies in an alley by mine. She was crying over them, and she jumped at me when I came by."
Dan frowned. "What about that stuck out, son?"
"I don't understand what she was trying to do: her pups were dead."
"She was a mother defending her kids, even if she probably didn't know they were gone."
"I still don't understand."
"You don't know this because you grew up around other orphans, but a good mother or father would gladly die for their children. Even if it's pointless or would result in their deaths, they'd jump to the call without a second thought. Only the best and smartest animals are like that though. There are dying retards that eat their own children."
"So it's for survival of the species."
"Not exactly but that's part of it."
He resumed looking at the street.
Dan scowled and rose from his chair.
The boy turned back to see him walk over to sit at his side.
"Do you think that crazy bitch bakes you that sweet shit and holds you while you sleep to make sure the human race survives?"
He shook his head. "She thinks I'm her grandson."
"Exactly." He set a hand on his shoulder. "She loves you."
Kojo glanced at the physical contact, and it ceased.
"What happened to you, kid?"
"Nothing. I was born, like everything else living."
Dan stood and walked back to his chair.
"…I understand."
Kojo hummed.
He lacked her passion but still died for him.
Above a monastery, a horned mutant looked down at a small grave. Two years passed since that fateful day. He stopped by occasionally but never entered the monastery proper: He didn't want to disturb a single resident. In his mind, he owed her.
A familiar scent growing stronger signaled its owner would come by.
He crouched and waited.
Then she came.
Kojo stared as the nun knelt at the grave and kissed the stone. He wanted to be with her but knew that she would never falter without coercion. It's what made her beautiful to him beyond physical means in the first place. Shaking his head, he sighed.
She turned back.
He hopped away before she could notice him. It took five seconds to arrive at Joseph Rodman Drake Park. Touching down, he fell limp against the earth and looked up to the cloudy sky.
It was the same.
"Child awoken," he sung in a soft voice unlike him. "Words unspoken. A door did open. Inside, was your light. You were more bright than others… Then you were smothered. Baptized in tears shed by your mother. Taken deep into the earth, away from this world full of hurt. You were never a bother despite being unknown to your father. Sleep well in death. Please rest. I…" He dug his fingers into his palm and grit his teeth. "Dammit. Dammit!"
The choice to sacrifice themselves for him was taken by circumstances.
"I don't understand. There was nothing wrong with me physically… I think. Maybe something with my brain, but that doesn't explain all my other…" His teeth shattered under his biting force. Grumbling, he reached into his mouth and tore them out to the root. A new set would grow in soon enough.
Abortions, stillbirths, and crib deaths were tragedies. Depending on the person, they would've been better off dead than unloved and alone. Many would've thought he deserved it if they knew, and he would've been more inclined to believe his cynical world view as a result.