"Please! Someone, help my son!" A mother cries out as she tries to pull her son from beneath the rubble of a fallen structure. Behind it, a massive, towering ape-like creature stood, beating its fist against its chest. It opened its maws to release a blood-curdling scream, but this was the last thing that the child's mother was worried about.

"Hang on, dear! I'll pull you out! Just wait! Just wait, please!" Her child had already lost consciousness, blood pouring from a wound in his head. The rubble from the structure being destroyed had stricken his head.

Heartlessly, the creature lifts its hand into the air, finally processing the woman in front of it as its prey. "Ooo-OOOOAH!" The creature blindly cries, swinging its open hand at her to swat her aside. If it hit her, every bone in her body would've shattered and she'd have been thrown across the air like a test dummy. Thankfully, this is not what became of the woman.

Just as the hand was about to reach the woman, a foot came crashing down on top of the creature's arm, generating a horrendous crunch upon impact.

The woman only saw a blur before something crashed into her body, making her stumble back a few steps. When she looks down, she's astounded to find her injured son in her arms, still breathing and in one piece.

She looks up to see the supposed savior of her child and is shocked to find a small girl, probably no older than 9 years old, standing on the massive arm of the creature. The beast roars out in anger as it looks at its dismembered limb, blood flooding from the injury to form a pool around its feet.

The girl speaks, "No wonder these things can do so much damage, they're seriously durable." As her red-streaked hair is blown by the wind, Rimi stands up as the monster in front of her decides its next course of action. "You're a good practice dummy." Complementing the beast, Rimi prepares for it to come at her.

Without waiting any longer, the creature pushes off of the ground, leaving the girl momentarily stunned by its mobility, despite its large size. Rimi quickly composes herself and leaped into the air, going just high enough to let the creature brush past her. Quickly, she suspends herself and flips her body to become upside down, reaching out in the direction of the creature. "Down!" She commands, and as if the laws of the world bent to her desire, the creature suddenly comes crashing down to the ground.

The impact caused the wind to be blown around wildly. If the mother from before weren't too busy carrying her son away, she might've been blown away by the sudden force.

"I'm a bit surprised that works." Rimi thinks out loud, watching as the creature struggles to stand after losing its arm. She didn't know if it'd work, but thankfully, voicing her thoughts out loud made using her ability a tad bit easier.

"Now I just need to hold out." While upside down, her eyes scan around the zoo for anyone who might need her help. It doesn't surprise her that there's a need for help everywhere. From the air, she can see countless people losing their lives to the wild beasts, and she's practically helpless to stop them. She didn't know how to use her ability to attack from this far, not without causing damage and risking killing the people she hoped to save.

"You're coming with me." Before the creature even knew what'd happened, a hand touched it on the back, and it was suddenly pushed forward.

Across the park, another tiger-like beast is preparing its claws for a vicious kill on a middle-aged man. Though, before it can even swing its arm, the massive body of the ape-like monster rams into it, splattering it against the ground upon impact. The ape's body is not much different. With the speed and force that it was thrown with, its body could barely handle the force of being thrown and slammed.

"Grrhh...!" The ape groans, placing its remaining hand on the ground as it attempts to push itself back onto its feet. "Cut it out," Rimi calls down from behind the beast. It hadn't even noticed that Rimi was riding on top of its back after she threw it. "You're going to hurt a lot of people, so hold still." She places her hand on the creature's head, concentrating on an action.

She envisioned it: the creature's head, in an empty space. It was stationary, suspended in the air. As the body of the creature trembled, it'd also move with it. 'I understand it a bit better now.' Concentrating further, Rimi pictures the head of the creature lifting from its stationary position. Bending to the will of her mind, the beast's head twists and soon flies into the air, leaving a trail of red beneath it.

When she returns her focus back to the real world, she sees the results of her efforts. The head of the ape has been thrown from its body, onto the ground in front of the middle-aged man who she'd saved. Unfortunately for him, the blood of the beast came splattering on top of him. It was disgusting, but she gave him a thumbs up nonetheless.

'How much longer do I have to keep doing this? It's getting easier, but it's still annoying.' Rimi thinks in frustration, looking back on the conversation she'd been having with Izumi.

* * * *

"Put me down! If I get my butler, Pinnley, he can handle those things lickety-split!" Izumi confidently declared up at Rimi, who looked at her like she was crazy. There was no way that a mere butler could beat something like that, not within a fair amount of time.

"If I put you down, you're going to get killed. Didn't you see that thing's tongue? It was going to split you in half!" Rimi spoke the gruesome truth to the girl, but for some reason, Izumi doesn't look disgusted by it whatsoever. "I'll be fine! I'm fast! Really fast! You'll see, just trust me!"

Rimi's eyebrow twitches as she looks down at the girl she'd saved. "I've just met you, I don't think I have any reason to trust you." Her words were true. She and Izumi had only recently spoken to each other, and now Izumi was insisting that she trust her in a life-or-death situation. "I'd be better off dropping you from here if you insist on dying." Quickly, Izumi retorts. "You're in danger too! It'll be hard for you to move around with me!" Though, this theory was quickly shot down. "I'm pretty good at moving with one other person."

Even before she could use it well, she's been using her quirk to drag Yuudai around with her whenever she used it. She was confident that she could keep this girl with her for as long as she needed. However, the girl then presents a rather reasonable point. "You're going to waste time holding me when you could be saving someone who really needs saving!"

Rimi paused and thought about Izumi's words for some time, however, she did not have time to consider her options for long. The screams of horror below became louder, leading Rimi to make an impetuous decision. "Ugh! Fine, don't say I didn't warn you!" Somewhere in her heart, she was still coldhearted, but Rimi didn't even notice how much compassion she'd slowly been showing to people over the past few years.

It was not an augury for Rimi to become a hero and save people, but something in her heart told her that it was necessary. For a reason unbeknownst to her, she felt guilty leaving Izumi to run on her own.

Nevertheless, Rimi goes down and sets Izumi back onto her feet, looking around for any monsters that might've grown closer to them. By the time she turns back, Rimi cannot see Izumi anywhere—the girl has actually gone and disappeared, leaving her startled. 'So she was being serious? Good thing I gave in, I can actually save someone now.'

Yuudai has already begun leading their group away, so he isn't anywhere near her right now. Other kids are running around, but she won't be able to safely move any of them without possibly causing harm. Even Izumi showed signs of discomfort when was carried into the sky.

Seeing so many amalgamations running around gives life to a newfound intrigue. Rimi rarely ever gets the chance to train her quirk to the fullest because of the drastic risks of messing up once. In the midst of this chaos, she will be able to not only save innocent lives but also improve her abilities.

The prospect of putting the horrific monsters down does not feel the same as those that were related to killing another human. It is due to this thought process that Rimi can mercilessly toy with the scattered creatures, especially since they all show signs of aggression. Even the smaller ones that were the size of puppies made attempts at sinking their teeth through the skin of children.

With her mind set on saving lives, the girl quickly sets off into the sky to get another view of the world around her.

* * * *

Back in the present, Rimi finds that she is faced with a group of charging monsters. These ones are much smaller than the few that she'd faced earlier. They were more child-sized, making them a perfect match for her. 'Is it bad if I don't feel any remorse for killing these things? Is that what I've been feeling all this time, remorse?' After spending so many years in peace, Rimi eventually came to understand what guilt and remorse were.

The child had long since come to understand that her past deeds were inexcusable, but only after she learned about guilt and remorse did she finally understand the sensation that'd haunted her throughout two lives. She was guilty.

To atone for that guilt, she decided that she'd save lives when it was necessary. It's why she didn't let Izumi get impaled by the monster's tongue when she saw the attack coming. In the past, although she'd hate to admit it, Rimi would've left Izumi to her fate and saved her group members, sharing more of a connection with them than she did with the strange child.

Presently, she couldn't stomach the thought of letting the child die. Already, she felt this guilt surfacing when she saw people being butchered in the background, victims of fate. Rimi couldn't save them from a distance, but if she disregarded her own safety, she'd surely be able to close the distance with everyone in an instant. Her body just couldn't handle the strain that'd come with moving that fast.

"You're in the way, move," Rimi speaks nonchalantly to the approaching monsters, her hand reaching out and grasping onto the air, almost like a sheet. "Actually, stay there. I just thought I'd sound cool." She'd heard a character on television say something like that before using his cool attack. She thought that she'd give it a try.

Once more, Rimi saw the white space. In front of her, there was a sheet: the air which she held. This time, it didn't take much effort for her to yank the sheet, and when she focused back in on reality, ripples moved through the air in the direction of the approaching group.

As the waves violently charged at the group, Rimi sees yet another meritorious sight. The group is ripped apart by the wind, disseminating their limbs far throughout the zoo. The blood of the creatures stained the grass and asphalt of the path, but Rimi didn't stay to stare for much longer. She needed to keep going, there were more monsters to slay—more lives to save!

With every use of her quirk, she felt her understanding of it grow more. Yet, no matter how much her understanding grew, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was missing plenty of her power's fundamentals.

Pushing away, Rimi darts in the direction of another random beast. This time, her feet come crashing into the monster's head, sending it flying off of its shoulders. With the amount of power behind the blows, one would rightfully expect the child's legs to be broken, but this was not the case.

Unconsciously, Rimi protected her limbs with an invisible layer of air, or something similar to it. She wasn't aware of it herself, but it appeared that her body still remembered the first time she used her ability. She is still a tyro when it comes to using her quirk, but there were some pros to unlocking her quirk when she did—at the time when she possessed the completed mind of a killer.

At the corner of her eye, through the wall of blood rising from the beast's body, Rimi sees another monster charging in her direction. It swipes a claw out to ravage her small body, but before it can, she swings her leg through the air to perform a kick. Striking beneath the monster's arm, her foot pushes through the limb without much resistance, ultimately severing it from its joints.

Expectedly, the monster opens its mouth to roar in pain, but Rimi doesn't give it the chance to. A swift kick to the head sends its body flying into the air, leaving a trail of blood and would-be brain matter behind it. For motions such as the high kick she'd just performed, Rimi could still feel the strain no matter the layers of defense she put around her.

"Erk!" Rimi unleashes a sharp whine and reaches down, grasping her aching hip. 'Note to self: Stretch.' Rimi hasn't done much to condition her body, but starting at a young age would probably do a great service to her future self. In this world, there is no avoiding chaos no matter where she runs to. This is a fact that she's long since accepted, but she also could not help but let her guard down to enjoy life.

A massive shadow suddenly covers Rimi in her brief moment of thought, and the child turns around to find a somewhat stripped beast falling in her direction. "What!?" Rimi was surprised that she didn't notice the beast falling until it was already over her head. It was not leaping at her, in fact, its back was facing her. If she didn't know any better, she'd make the assumption that it was thrown.

Rimi quickly used her ability to yank herself out of the way, but this didn't stop the unfortunate state of the beast from ruining her attire. As soon as the large creature smashed into the ground, its head erupted into a mess of sickening gore, flinging the chunks of meat onto the girl's body.

If she hadn't flinched, Rimi might've contracted lord knows how many diseases. Swiping the blood off of her face as if it were nothing but an inconvenience, she looks past the corpse of the monster to see what is responsible for its wretched state. Nothing at this zoo should've been capable of sending that kind of monster flying, besides another monster.

The sound of someone's steps approach from behind the beast, but quickly stop. "Oh dear, little one. I'm sorry!" The voice of an old man pitches around the beast as he moves in a hurry. Before she knew it, Rimi was being held by an old man in a tuxedo that was already stained with blood. In his left hand, there was a cane, or more specifically; a cane sword.

"Woah!" It finally clicks in her mind that this strange and apparently powerful old man had just run over and snatched her off of the ground! "Put me down!" She shouts at the man, but he only smiles and nods. Although he seemed to nod in understanding, he didn't put her down at any point. He started running with her, right toward a crowd of beasts.

Her sockets struggle to keep her eyes in place when her eyes widen. "Where do you think you're taking me?! Put me down!" She screams at the man, starting to thrash around wildly to break free from his grip.

"I cannot do that, Young Miss. The Young Master has asked for me to save you and dispose of the troublesome beasts that have ruined her special day." Listening to his words, she thinks back to the conversation she had with Izumi. "Uh... Are you 'Pinnley' by chance?" She asks the old man. Examining his clothes, he did appear to be an old-fashioned butler, so it wasn't a farfetched assumption. "I am, Young Miss." He doesn't add anything more than that. She envisioned the butler having a prolonged introduction, but he was straightforward to the point.

Ceasing her struggle, Rimi makes the decision to have faith in the man and his abilities, assuming that it was he who launched the creature moments ago. "As per my orders, I will not be initiating the Young Master's command." After speaking these final words, Pinnley pushes off of the ground, and Rimi is shocked to find the space around her becomes a blur.

The child is aware that they are moving, and she can make out the abnormal shapes of the monsters, but she never gets a clear picture of anything else.

Pinnley moved faster than she could process, skillfully thrusting and dicing through the pack of aberrations with his blade. The beasts had the same view as Rimi. Although some moved quickly to try and defend themselves from their impending demise, none of them could see Pinnley's swift movements. They were all perfect, so perfect that when combined with his superhuman speed, the detestable vermins could no longer perceive his actions.

In a matter of seconds, Pinnley came to a halt behind the pack, doing his best to shield Rimi from the erupting mist of blood. The assembly of monsters crumbled into a mess of limbs and flesh, like fish in a fish slaughter.

"Goodness, that was much messier than intended. Please endure it for a bit longer, Young Miss." Rimi blinks as she looks behind them, seeing the carnage left behind by this old timer's attack. In less than 10 seconds, he'd done what she could do with her powerful quirk using a weaponized cane. Rimi wouldn't openly admit it, but she was feeling a hint of jealousy from the man's performance.

Somehow, the thought never came to either of the two to just drop Rimi off at a safe location, so she spent the rest of her time with Pinnley bathing in clouds of blood. Her mother would not be happy when she saw her daughter in this state, not one bit.

* * * *

"Goodness..." Pinnley, after dropping off Rimi, stood on top of a lamppost, overseeing the illicit imagery before him. Mixed in with the corpses of monsters were the disfigured remains of dozens of bystanders. The butler couldn't help but feel bad for the innocent people who were killed. If he'd been given the order to come sooner, he'd presumably have been able to prevent many of these ends.

The child who he'd been ordered to save was rather unusual. Although he wasn't there to see all of it, he could tell that her efforts helped palliate the number of deaths.

The next thought that reached the butler's mind was the presence—or lack thereof—of security. There was not a single member of security in sight. Security would usually have come to help guide people to safety while waiting for the police, and even attempt to handle the emergency on their own. This situation was an aberration. 'Did they allow all of these people to die?' The old man wonders.

'Surely not, they aren't cold-blooded killers. Something must've gone wrong.' Set on checking, Pinnley leaps from the pole and vanishes into another blur, quickly moving toward the furthest end of the zoo. 'My quirk is still activated, meaning that my job isn't done yet.'

A few minutes later, he comes to a halt in front of a building with a sign reading "SECURITY" over its door. 'My heart is racing just from looking at this ominous place. That means that there's something here.' Upon arrival, he'd noticed numerous puddles of blood that were suspiciously close together. Nonetheless, there were no footprints for him to receive a hint of anything other than the beasts from earlier being responsible.

As he approaches the door to the building, Pinnley is hesitant to touch the doorknob. Just by reaching his hand out, he feels sweat starting to pour from his skin.

'Wait...' Pinnley stares at the door, coming to a realization about the nature of the building stationed before him. 'I see now. That's why I was so nervous.'

Sniffling, he takes a few steps back, creating distance between himself and the door. Clenching his cane tightly, he performs a powerful slash in the direction of the door. As his weapon makes contact with the building, rather than bounce off, it cuts into it, drawing blood. His blade continues up until it reaches the doorknob, where he notices it bend out of the way of his blade.

Soon, the entirety of the structure is bending and warping, leaving him time to leap away from it. 'The entire building was a monster as well—what a horrifying quirk.' Although the change in its form wasn't too drastic, Pinnley could now make out eyes and the outlines of a mouth. By opening the door and stepping into the building, he'd have been entering into the creature and would've immediately been digested. 'What kind of devil would create such a thing? It's rather eldritch if I do say.'

Raising his blade in front of himself, Pinnley's eyes create a silver streak as he dashes at the goliath beast. It is larger than any of the other monsters and is potentially the most dangerous. He's noticed that making contact with the beasts physically is dangerous, as their bodies can quickly tighten around you as soon as you make contact with its surface. It made the fact that the child from before could slay so many of them even more remarkable.

'I'll finish up here and head back to the Young Miss. I should probably leave enough for the police to investigate as well, though.' However, by the time he'd finished chipping away at the creature's body and was mid-air, Pinnley's battle was interrupted by the presence of a supposed security team member.

Pinnley saw a glimpse of the man at the corner of his eye, and when he turned in his direction, a massive appendage sprouted from the man's shadow and violently struck out in his direction. 'Oh, dear!'

---

A few days have passed since the events at the zoo. Thankfully, Rimi and her friends did not receive any major injuries. Yuudai and Rimi were both scolded and commended for their brave deeds. Rimi used her ability to save as many lives as possible, and Yuudai used his ability to safely defend his classmates while they were fleeing.

The police were keeping details about the event a secret from the public, for some reason. Rimi assumed that it was because of the evident failure of the zoo's security team. She was not aware that they'd all been massacred.

After being returned to her class, Rimi attempted to find Izumi, but apparently, the girl's parents had quickly come to "collect her", which she thought was an odd choice of words, but did not pry further.

Now, she was left to sulk in her home after receiving an earful from her mother about how she shouldn't put her life in danger when it isn't necessary. As brazen as it may seem, Rimi agreed with her mother completely. However, she also felt that it was necessary for her to step in at that time. For years, she's been haunted by faces and names that she'd long since forgotten. She could not remember their names any longer, but the voices of her victims continued haunting her even when she appeared to be happy.

Ever since the day at the zoo, she's noticed that there are fewer voices haunting her in her dreams. The decrease was not great, it was only by one or two, but the improvement has not gone unnoticed. 'By saving people's lives, I feel like a weight is being lifted off my shoulders.'

It might've been a way of comforting herself or neglecting the truth, but Rimi felt truly satisfied with her deeds. With her back against her bed, and the old Marble on her chest, Rimi stares at the ceiling with a content smile.

Focusing her attention back on her dog, her hand continues to slowly stroke the old pup. Even if he could run around and play, Rimi was aware that Marble's time would be coming soon. He was around since before she was born, nearly pushing past the life expectancy of his breed. "Are you happy for me too, boy?" She'd already forgiven him for leaving her with Pearl at the park. The two had been the same delightful duo, ever since... Rimi still could not remember why the two of them became so close all of a sudden.

Marble lets out a cheerful bark at Rimi's acknowledgment of him. Rimi giggles at the hilarious face of the dog as he looks in her direction. He looks almost awestruck that she'd spoken to him. "Yeah, I know you are." Behind her cracked door, Rimi can hear the pattering feet of their younger, but larger dog, Pearl. Instinctively, Marble ran straight ahead, practically running over Rimi's face. "Pfh! Pugh! Pfffh!" She rises up, spitting dog fur from her mouth, right as Pearl comes pushing the door open.

Pearl sprints to the edge of the bed, placing her head down on Rimi's lap. The shepherd stares up at Rimi as if waiting for something from her. "You can't have Marble, Pearl." She shakes her head, and Pearl loudly whimpers, the wagging of her tail slowing.

Rimi rolls her eyes, used to Pearl's antics. "What's made you so obsessed with him anyways? Is it normal for dogs to be so interested in other breeds?" Her hand reaches down and ruffles the sleek fur of the dog.

Another pair of footsteps approach her door, and when she looks up, Rimi finds her father standing in her doorway, seeing both of their dogs in her room. "Yep, I kind of figured this is where I'd find them." Rimi didn't say it, but she knew that her father had just followed the bark and footsteps of the frantic Pearl. He was no better than the canines in her room.

"Do you want a dog treat too, dad?" Rimi jokes at her father's cluelessness at her joke. "I'm... fine?" He scratches his head, unable to read the childish mind of his daughter. Shaking his head, Koji speaks. "Your mother has gone out to a bar with her friends for the night. She'll be back in a few hours. I'm going to be working the night shift at work today, so I'm going to need you," he points at her, "to watch the house. No staying up past 9."

Unlike Kimiko, Koji had no problem leaving his daughter home alone. He'd come to accept that his youngest was smarter than most children her age. The worst that could happen would be her tearing their home apart, literally. No babysitter could stop something of that magnitude, not unless they were All Might!

"Got it! Try not to get shot!" Koji was almost thrown away by his daughter's bluntness as she turns back to Pearl, rubbing the dog on her ears. "R-Right..." Koji has long since decided against speaking about his daughter's lack of care in her speech. He's received more than his fair share of complaints about Rimi saying things such as: "Your son's hair is disgusting", "I can't believe you were born that way", or the legendary "You'd probably be better off without your balls, you filthy dog". What shocked him the most about the last one was that she wasn't speaking to a dog, but a man who was standing in line at a restaurant!

Once Koji made his leave, Rimi let Pearl curl up at the foot of her bed. She didn't want the large dog taking up the majority of the space on her bed. She didn't have much to do other than watch television and pet Marble, who'd quickly fallen asleep after Koji left for his police work.

At some point, she too ended up drifting off into a dreamless slumber.

* * * *

Rimi's slumber did not last long, however. She is quickly woken up by the sound of glass breaking deeper into her home.

Popping her eyes open, Rimi wastes no time looking around her room, seeing if her dogs had been woken up by the noise. To her surprise, neither Marble nor Pearl was present in the room. If someone had broken in, both of her dogs would've been barking louder than ever before.

Slipping off of her bed, Rimi was quick to put on socks and a pair of slippers before heading into the hallway in her nightwear. After hurrying into the living room, Rimi is shocked to find a hole in the window beside the front door. What came as an even greater surprise was the lack of glass in her home. Usually, the glass would've fallen in and covered the floor, but instead, there was barely any noticeable glass in the home whatsoever.

A thought connected in Rimi's mind: 'Did they... jump out the window?' In disbelief, she quickly runs over to her front door, using her quirk to quickly unlock and pull it open before she got there. As soon as she reached the door, she could not believe the sight before her eyes. Both of her dogs, Marble and Pearl, were running full speed down the street, in the direction of the nearby city. In addition to her dogs sprinting away, there was glass covering the grass in front of the house.

"Marble! Pearl!" She screams as loudly as she can at the running dogs. They made no attempt to abscond from her view but instead continued their sprint down the road. It was cold, but Rimi had no time to grab a coat. She goes running after the dogs in nothing but her nightwear and slippers.

"Marble!" She screams the dog's name, careful not to accidentally use her quirk on her pets. Instead, she used it on herself to keep up. "Pearl!" No matter how much she screamed for them, they didn't even bother looking back in her direction.

As she followed after the dogs, Rimi noticed that around them, there were other animals mindlessly going in different directions. Puppies were heading in one direction, and kittens would head in the other. 'The hell is happening out here?' Rimi pondered while chasing after her dogs.

Quickly, she ducks down as she feels something approaching behind her. A flock of birds, unnaturally close to the ground, swarmed past her into a nearby alleyway. Some of them slapped into the wall, but the other birds didn't waste any time waiting for them. It was like every creature in the vicinity had become prone to discordant behavior.

Then, as she noticed her dogs starting to slow down as they grew closer to an alleyway, another set of thoughts reached Rimi's mind.

* * * *

"Marble!" The 5-year-old Rimi shouted at the dog, watching as it ran off with her bag, the strap of it held in its mouth. At this time, she was still depressed about the lives she'd taken while killing the marksman a few years prior. "Come back here!"

Jumping from the couch, the girl sprinted after the small dog who was dragging her bag on the ground. She'd received it as a birthday present from her grandmother who she'd yet to meet on her mother's side of the family.

Once they reached the hallway, Rimi was ambushed by Pearl, who used her head to sweep the girl off of her feet. "Uwah!" She cries as she rolls on the body of the dog before falling to the ground behind her. "Pearl!" Rimi's hand slams on the ground in frustration as she yells, irritated by their antics. If the two could speak, they'd have no doubt derided her for her sorry state.

At the time, Rimi didn't understand what the two were doing, so she quickly stood up and went chasing after both of them.

Eventually, they took a sharp turn into Madoka's bedroom. The girl was not home at the time, so Rimi wasn't hesitant in following them. However, when she entered the room, the girl slid to a stop. Marble and Pearl stood around a sheet of paper on the ground, written in Madoka's handwriting.

Groaning, Rimi rolls her eyes while walking further into the room. "You two... You led me in here for this silly thing?" Once she was closer, she reached out to grab her bag from Marble's mouth, but the dog didn't let her. He nudged his head away from her, using his paw to tap the paper. As if to acquiesce to Marble's thoughts, Pearl barks and does the same.

Rimi huffs, but gives in and looks at the paper. "You guys are too much." As her hand reaches down to touch the paper, the memory becomes a bit of a blur. However, Rimi knew the contents of the paper, a group effort that was written by her family in an attempt at making her feel better. Of course, it was only later on that she truly ended up accepting her family's words.

She still remembered every word that the letter read, even without the scenery in her memory.

[Rimi, your big sister will always be there for you. If you're sad, you can talk to me!]
[Dear, if you're down or need someone to talk to, your papa is a good listener! Come to me when you're ready!]
[Honey, I love you. I love you so much. Your family is here for you.]

At the bottom of the paper, there were two unevenly sized paw prints, applied by Marble and Pearl. Reading the letter made Rimi feel uneasy that day. She wasn't even aware of the tears that dripped down her cheek while reading it. Everyone in her family, including the dogs was supporting her during her darkest time. They pulled her out of the first and greatest depression of her life.

As the world around her begins to burn away, Rimi's heart pounds as she's forced to face reality—her hand was reaching out—but she could not grab them.

* * * *

Rimi's hand rose with alacrity, reaching for Marble and Pearl as soon as she returned to her senses. However, she was shocked to find a man leaning against the wall of the alleyway with a scar over his left eye. From this distance, anyone else would have a hard time identifying him, but with the messy oak-colored hair and familiar jacket he wore, Rimi could immediately recognize Yuuichi Yokota.

The last time she saw him, he didn't have that scar over his eye. 'Yuudai's dad? What happened to him-!' Rimi's attention snaps back to the scene in front of her. That single moment of hesitation and realization gave birth to the most heartwrenching scene she'd ever witnessed.

Yuuichi raises his hand and taps Pearl on her head; she didn't resist. What happened next was unpackaged too quickly for Rimi to fully comprehend.

Pearl's body exploded into an abundance of red innards, and Marble, who was nearest to her, was caught in the expansion of her mass. "What...?" Rimi stares, but not in horror, but rather, in doubt. "Pearl?"

Marble's body quickly had the fur and skin sucked away and absorbed into Pearl's transmuting form. Through the thick walls of flesh that were seemingly being generated from thin air, Rimi could hear the whining and whimpering of the two dogs. "Marble?" She spoke again, waiting to hear the familiar, encouraging barks he'd been letting out just a few hours ago.

"No..." Soon, the mass contorted to the point where she could no longer see or hear either of the two dogs. Instead, a bipedal, nearly humanoid figure began to form around her. In the distance, she could hear the screams of other people, but they were quickly drowned out by the sound of static in her ears.

Everything around her ceased to exist as she stares at the mass—Marble and Pearl—that oozed blood, barely capable of taking a humanoid shape. She remembered the monster at the zoo, what it'd done to the tigers, and how the same had just been done to her dearest pets.

'No, I'm seeing things. Yeah, there's no way something like that would happen to Marble. Definitely not to Pearl either. She's a big girl.' Rimi stumbles forward, her arms still reaching up as if trying to grab hold of something, waiting for something to take her hand: a paw, perhaps? "Paw..." She utters the command, but neither Marble nor Pearl is present to shake her hand.

"Madoka's coming back soon..."

'I can't breathe.'

"Mama's going to come home, we need to get back in the house."

'I... I can't breathe, mom.'

"Yuudai wants to ride you too, Pearl. C'mon, quit..."

'Mom, mom I need you. Pearl and Marble... They're-!'

"Hey..." Suddenly, the strength in her legs is sapped from her completely. Rimi collapses to her knees, staring ahead. Her throat ached as if someone had just strangled her. "Guys!" Rimi chuckled, shaking her head in denial.

Marble, who she'd grown up with. Marble, who she'd known longer than her best friend. Marble, who was present for her birth. Marble, who she held and cared for. Marble, who she'd... "It's not funny anymore!" Her chuckles turned into flat-out laughter.

Pearl, who they'd gotten for protection. Pearl, who despite being purchased for protection showed nothing but love. Pearl, who hopelessly sought love from Marble. Pearl, who Rimi had been petting just a few hours ago. "Please...! It was a good joke! Sis! Pa!" Rimi's brain trembled as an uncontrollable stream of tears ran down her face.

Her despair-filled laughter could easily convince someone that she was a psychopath. But, in her head, no one existed in this world—she was alone. In front of her, there was a white space. And as her mind gripped it, the sheet, much like how she'd done at the zoo, this time she yanked it with never before seen ferocity.

There were screams, but only for a moment. There were explosions, but they were deafened by her bloodcurdling cries. Then, in the end, there was silence.

Pearl Yonamine was dead. Marble Yonamine was dead. Karma laughed.