I do not own Scissor Seven or any of the characters.

Broken

His feet pounded against the ground, his lungs burning as he gasped in huge, ragged breaths. He looked around through the rain frantically, but there was no one around him as he fled through the trees. Crimson droplets rolled down his cheeks and fell to the ground, stinging his eyes, but he ignored it, pushing himself to run faster. Finally, the pursuers caught him. A blade spun out of the trees, whistling as it cut through the air toward his back. He spun, his blade flashing out from behind his waist and clashing with the spinning blade chasing him, deflecting it as he skidded to a stop, yanking his other blade out as well.

Both blades were foot-long khopeshes, the entirety of the weapons the same pitch black as the outside of his full-length coat, pants, gloves, and boots. Under the coat he wore a steel grey shirt matching the inside of the coat, a steel grey belt over his coat, and a second pair of daggers strapped to his thighs, both of them black, nine-inch, double-edged combat knives with the insides of their sheaths covered with a film of a highly toxic poisons.

His eyes narrowed as his attacker stepped out of the trees, flicking their hand, their thrown weapon appearing in it so suddenly that it could almost be confused as having always been there. The blades were straight, double-edged, and jagged on both sides. He lowered himself as he saw who his attacker was, raising his daggers, but his face betrayed his distress and the crimson tears falling down his cheeks thickened.

"Thanatos," his attacker greeted him. "You're such a disgrace. You completed the mission. And yet, you ran. Why?"

"Erebus...please," Thanatos rasped, his voice scratchy and frail from holding back his sobs.

Erebus made a disgusted sound. "Worthless. You disgrace the War Children. You were the best of us, and yet..." he spat on the ground between them. "You're nothing but spineless filth."

"Brother..." Thanatos shook his head. "I did it for you! I did it to save you! They were going to kill you! But I...I can't get it out of my head! Every time I close my eyes..."

"Worthless," Erebus scoffed. "Soft. Useless. What good is a killer who gets traumatized by killing?" He spat again. "Maybe the next Thanatos will be born with a spine."

Thanatos swallowed hard, relaxing his stance and letting his blades fall to the ground. He reached back, pulling his hood up before pulling a mask from a pouch behind him. "Please, brother. Don't make me put this on."

"Do it, failure," Erebus said coldly.

Thanato closed his eyes for a moment before pulling the mask on. It was a black, metal skull mask, and as soon as it was on, a thick crimson trail leaked down its cheeks for a moment before stopping. Slowly, Thanatos' head rose before his blades appeared in his hands again, just as suddenly as Erebus's had. Erebus narrowed his own eyes behind his own, featureless, black mask. Then, both hurled a blade as they charged. The blades deflected off of each other, only to return to their wielders' hands just in time for both to begin slashin, spinning, and flipping in identical styles of fighting.

Thanatos spun under Erebus's blade, slashing at his side, only for Erebus's blade to deflect his own. Erebus spun, blocking Thanatos's other blade as well before spinning, using the curve of Thanatos's blade to knock it away, then stabbed at Thanatos in reverse grip. Thanatos leaned back, allowing the blade to pass in front of him, then stabbed at Erebus with his left knife, only for Erebus to knock the blade from his hand. Erebus seized the initiative, lunging to slash Thanatos down the front, only for Thanatos to step forward, his spare left knife jabbing into Erebus's torso three times before he spun around behind him, facing away and sheathing both weapons, his lost blade reappearing in its own sheath at the same time.

Erebus lowered his arms, dropping his weapons before reaching up and pulling off his mask. "Finish it, coward."

"I already have," Thanatos said in a cold, emotionless hiss just as thick black veins spread from around Erebus's face, his eyes beginning to bleed.

As Erebus fell to his knees, he coughed, thick, black blood flecking his lips and wetting the ground. Thanatos turned his head slightly, not looking at Erebus but acknowledging his existence.

"I warned you, Erebus," Thanatos reminded him. "As you said, I was always the best of us."

Then, he turned, walking through the trees for another three minutes before reaching a cliff. He'd been so close. Another minute of running, and his brother would still be alive. He reached up to his mask, only to stop. He lowered his hand again, instead reaching down to strap all four of his blades into their sheaths before diving from the cliff.

Thanatos set several coins on the stall's counter, thanking the man running the stall. He was selling beef stew, and he'd chopped up the pieces using a pair of scissors he controlled with Qi. Thanatos's eyes glanced down at his white sweatshirt and the three tufts of hair sticking up atop his head. He was almost recognizable. Even his personality was different. Gone was the coldhearted master of death, and in its place was a dim-witted fool, but his eyes and his skill with Qi betrayed him. His eyes were eternally underlined in thick shadows and held a darkness deeper than anything Thanatos had ever seen, though it was buried deep.

"Hey, you keep coming here, but I don't have anything special," the man said. "Why? I don't even have that good of food. And it's overpriced."

Thanatos eyed him silently for a moment. "I'm a fan of your scissors."

The man's eyes narrowed. "What's your name?"

"Kang," Thanatos lied. "See you around, Seven."

The man blinked in surprise before shrugging and watching Thanatos walk away. Thanatos walked to the pier, sitting down and staring out to sea as thick, crimson tears began to well up in his eyes before rolling down his cheeks.

Cola skipped along the road, humming to herself as she went. She adjusted her wig as she reached the docs, only to stop, staring at the boy ahead of her as he cleaned a pair of curved blades. She watched him for a few moments before finally nodding to herself as she watched him twirl the weapon in his hand before finally returning it to its sheath.

"Hey, there!" she smiled, walking over to crouch down beside him. "Are you a killer?"

"No," Thanatos said, standing and turning away, only for her hand to catch his arm, his entire body locking up, his eyes shooting wide open.

"You're a bad liar," the girl smirked. "I have a job for you." She released him and he took several steps away, watching her warily. "I want you to kill me."

"Excuse me?" Thanatos asked.

"I want you to kill me," the girl said again. "I'm already dying. I have cancer, and it scares me. So, I want to you kill me instead."

"I don't kill anyone," Thanatos said, turning away.

"You'd just let me suffer?" Cola asked, Thanatos stopping after barely two steps. "Cancer is terrible. It hurts, all the time. It's basically torture. I'm asking you to have mercy. I'm asking you to spare me a pitiful, lame, agonizing death. Are you really just going to make me suffer unbearable pain until I die?"

Thanatos swallowed hard, looking back at her, seeing tears in her eyes.

"I'm afraid," she admitted. "Please, save me."

Thanatos's throat closed, and he shut his eyes. However, finally, he nodded. Cola nodded as well and Thanatos motioned for her to turn away. She complied, and he drew one of his poisoned daggers, walking forward and holding it just behind the base of her skull, setting his free hand on her shoulder.

"Tell me a story," Thanatos said. "Your happiest memory."

Cola considered. "You're the second killer I've asked to kill me. The last one I forced to do my bucket list with. It was a ton of fun! We went skydiving, and I made him run around-"

Thanatos swallowed hard, preparing to finish her, only for a memory to flash through his eyes. Blood, flames, choking. A small body lying on the floor before him. He sucked in a harsh breath, thick, crimson tears rolling thickly down his cheeks as his knife clattered to the dock. Cola blinked in surprise and turned, eyes widening as she saw Thanatos kneeling at the side of the pier, scrubbing his hands in the water as crimson tears dropped from his chin, his entire expression twisted in anguish.

"It won't come off," his voice choked out in a strangled sob. "I can't wash it off!"

Cola walked over and knelt down, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a hug from the side. His body didn't lock up this time, however. Thanatos stopped scrubbing, beginning to sob as thick red tears rolled more and more thickly down his cheeks.

"You have to get away," Thanatos choked out. "I'll hurt you!"

"No, you won't," Cola said softly. "You can't."

Thanatos continued to sob, leaning against her as he cried, and Cola ignored the blood soaking her hair and dress. Finally, Thanatos's sobs began to taper off until he fell silent. He sniffed a few times before lifting his head and using the water to wash the blood off of his face as Cola released him.

"Are you okay?" Cola asked.

No," Thanatos admitted, voice raspy. "I can't...I can't forget."

"Forget what?" Cola asked.

"What I did," Thanatos said, crimson tears rolling down his cheeks once again.

Cola remained silent, not pressing him, but waiting to see if he would speak again.

"I was given a mission," Thanatos began in a shaky voice after several minutes of silence. "But...But the target...it was just a child. I wanted to refuse...I tried...but they said they'd kill my brother if I didn't complete the mission."

Cola's eyes widened slightly, then softened in understanding.

"But...after..." Thanatos's voice choked off again for a minute. "I couldn't...I couldn't take it. I couldn't bear the thought of killing again, so I ran. But...my brother came after me, and...I had no choice."

He began to sob again, and Cola wrapped her arms around him again. For a long while, they remained there before either spoke again.

"Why do you cry blood?" Cola asked.

"I don't know," Thanatos shook his head. "I don't remember ever crying before, but after...after I killed..." he took a shuddering breath. "For the first time, I cried, and it was just blood."

Cola nodded, continuing to hold Thanatos for a few more minutes before releasing him and standing, holding out her hand.

"What?" Thanatos asked.

"Come with me," Cola said. "Let's go find something fun to do."

"Something...fun?" Thanatos repeated.

"Well, if you cry blood, eventually you'll bleed out if you never stop," Cola said. "So I'm going to find something to distract you so you can't cry anymore."

Thanatos managed a small smile and nodded, following her.

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