Droplets of rain pour from the grey sky. The sun has been concealed by the thick rainclouds and smoke of fires that not even the sky's teardrops can extinguish. 

The ground is far gloomier than the sky, if "gloomy" can be considered a word to use to describe the frightening display. Corpses, limbs, intestines, and blood decorate the field that once held such prosperous grass that you'd never be able to see a squirrel rustling within it.

Trimmed by the battle that'd taken place here, the grass has become even shorter. The cries that'd once volleyed the air have quieted down.

"One," a young man's voice comes from across the devastation. A black hood cloaked his face, his dark attire sloppily illustrated by blood. "We're finished here. There's no one left, come on." His boots are covered in dirt and gore, clarifying his involvement in this slaughter.

A hand rises from among the dead carcasses, a crimson hand wielding a tight grip on a cleaver flagging the location of One. "Don't rush me." Anyone spectating would've easily confused the young man for one of the unfortunate lost souls in this field. He too is responsible for the slaughter, nevertheless. 

The man called One had stood in front of this group of young men and women with only the thought of killing in mind. He knew what he'd be doing when he'd walked here with several of his companions. For each step he took, he'd send his cleaver through the body of some poor fool who'd made the mistake of stepping closer to him. In accordance with his orders, he needed to kill his enemies.

He didn't know why they were his enemies himself. One was like a soldier who only followed orders; he was born to follow orders, after all. This group of foes was only unlucky enough to have him as an opponent. When he is given an order, he cannot fail. His body will not allow him to fail, no matter how much he wants to rest. The harsh setting he grew up in was filled with constant fighting; a desperate fight for survival.

Three speaks from across the field of corpses once more. "Two is dead. Her entire spine is poking out of her back. One of those guys had a ridiculously strong quirk. He turned into some weird rock monster. His punches felt like explosions, if it weren't for my own quirk I'd have been split in half." Such was the nature of their lives. Every person they met in the streets of the battleground that was the city of Marye could become enemies at any moment. Their quirks could range from stretching their eyes out to igniting whatever they touch into a chunk of flames.

One's silence says everything that it needs to. "Ha..." His frustrations are all released in one short breath. "It's nothing new. She killed a lot of people too, so it makes sense that she died too." One's relationship with Two was nothing more than business. They grew up together, sure, but personal relationships would drag you through the mud in this dog-eat-dog environment. Two was just as horrible as everyone else bearing a number as their name. 

"You're still as cold-hearted as ever, you fucker." Three sneers, drilling the heel of his boot into one of the corpses beside him. "She followed you, you dickhead!" Three's emotions got the better of him. As if he weren't bothered by the idea of killing a group of other living humans, the hooded man felt infuriated at how easily One could disregard his relationship with Two; she'd followed him from their previous lifestyle, just as they all had.

One cannot muster the energy necessary to pull himself from the ground. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was too exhausted from the butchering of this group to move from their ranks. Here he rests, lurking among the lifeless vessels of his own creation. "It's the same for everyone, somehow, Three. You know what our numbers mean. They're the order we're supposed to die in." 

The numbers that they were given are not their own. They were kids who did not possess names; they were provided with them. "She'd have died in Marye if she didn't follow me. Do you expect me to carry the burden of everyone who selfishly marches behind me? I'm going to keep walking, Three. I'm going to keep walking and I won't be looking back to see if you all can fuckin' follow me." 

All of the children who walked the backstreets of Marye are willing to do heinous deeds for their survival. They can steal, fight, and kill as much as they need to. They may hate it; it can be something they don't want to do; nonetheless, it's a necessity for their own lives.

"Would you be saying the same thing to her if I died here?! Do you think I know nothin'?! Zero dies first, but somehow the reaper always skips over One! I can't keep everyone alive! Do you know how many Threes I've seen end up buried six feet under in only a few months?!" His anger brims as Three stands there silently staring at him. It's like he's speechless, or maybe time is frozen.

"Fuckin' answer me, Three! Do you know how many—" Right when he gathers the strength to push himself off of the ground, One feels himself slip away from the world around him. Everything around him withers away into a colorful mess of blurs and stripes.

---

The sound of chirping birds comes through the open window of a luxurious bedroom. Free leaves are carried by the wind, hoisted across the sky with a motherly gentleness.

Croaking, a veteran brings himself from the comfort of his bed. Another harsh dream plagued his mind, just as usual. His past misdeeds have haunted him beyond his youth. Raising his hand to his head, the man dismisses an exhausted sigh. 

All humans commit to actions of questionable morality. Veterinarians are tasked with putting down sick creatures once they're believed to be past the point of saving. Each day, a mercy killing is performed. Family members of hospitalized souls may be given the option to pull the plug and allow their loved one to slip into the afterlife, all without them getting a say in the matter.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, there are those who kill for a living so that they can continue on with their wretched lives. To the surprise of none, there are murderers who kill for their own enjoyment. They bring an abrupt closure to the life of someone who'd have had a future ahead of them. 

The man in the bed was one of the few people who'd lived a mixture of all of these lives. Born on the streets of a country foreign to Japan, he did many terrible things to get by. He'd brought those around him with him on his voyage into the unknown world of cruelty that lurked beneath society.

Attention drawn away from his sulking, the man hears a voice following a knock on his door. It was right on time. "Mr. Pinnley," a woman's soft voice comes from the opposite side of the door. "Ms. Yonamine is waiting for you downstairs."

A painful silence overtakes the room after the woman's words. 

"..." The woman on the other side of the door remains quiet, waiting for a response from Pinnley for a few minutes.

"Mr. Pinnley?" Following several minutes of silence, the soft-spoken woman on the other side of the door speaks his name again. "Is everything alright?" Concern in her voice, the woman checks on his status. It isn't until her hand touches the doorknob that Pinnley immediately responds.

"I'm fine, Ms. Inaba!" Hurriedly calling out to the woman, Pinnley successfully keeps her from entering the room. "I'll be up in just a moment, thank you." There is a strain in the butler's voice, sounding as though he'd been sapped of his energy. 

His response is enough to get the woman to continue down the hallway once she'd gained confirmation that the man is awake. 

In his lonesome again, Pinnley slouches into his hand, tiredly exhaling. Mind-numbing voices fill his conscience—a cycle that he's become accustomed to. The voices of the souls who continue to haunt him, even decades after the deeds he'd done. 

Why did it have to be me...? What did I do to you?

'Absolutely nothing.'

Where did you bury me? 

'I didn't.'

My brother! Spare my brother, at least!

'He was as much of an enemy as you were, I'm sorry.'

Pinnley directly addressed the voices in his conscience every day. Rarely did they ever respond, but it helped calm his pain when he spoke with them. They'd never forgive him for taking their lives, even if it were a justified action. 

After glimpsing at his clock hanging from the wall across the room, the butler rises from his bed to prepare for the day. Much like his guilty conscience, he will be restless.

---

Rimi finds herself standing on a massive lawn, the grass trimmed so finely that not a lone blade of grass dared to be incongruent with its peers. The bright sun beams down, showing the signs of a new, early day. The tracksuit she wore fit her almost too perfectly. It was like it was made specifically for her. 

"So, what do you plan on teaching me, Mr. Kidnapper?" Speaking sarcastically, Rimi's words strike out like a waiting viper. Any opening in Pinnley's mental fortitude would be struck at by the unhappy child. Unsurprisingly, his fortitude didn't budge at all. 

Pinnley is wearing a nearly identical white tracksuit, his defined muscles fighting against the fibers of his jacket. "Today, I'll be teaching you self-control. More specifically, I'll be emptying out that rowdiness in you." He says matter-of-factly.

"How are you going to teach me self-control by bringing her here?" Rimi's index finger dots out the child standing across the lawn from them in similar attire. Her white hair is tied into a neat bun, clearly done by a professional. Emerald eyes sparkle in awe while spectating the scene.

"The Young Miss insisted on watching your exercise. She was thrilled to hear that you'd be staying here, at the Kiyabu Estate." The white-haired child watching is none other than Izumi Kiyabu, the child who Rimi had saved from one of Yuuichi's amalgamations at the zoo. 

At a glance, anyone would assume that the child is only rich and helpless, but Rimi noticed that she wielded the ability to move incredibly fast. When she'd only looked away from the girl for a moment, Izumi went on to vanish from the area completely. While Rimi was capable of moving that fast with her Quirk, her body wasn't meant to handle that kind of speed. Going from one side of a zoo to another in the blink of an eye would hurt her fragile body.

Raising her hand, Izumi performs a sloppy wave at Rimi. If Rimi didn't know any better, she'd believe that she was too shy to walk up and greet her. "As long as she isn't getting in the way, I guess I can't care." Rimi dismisses the presence of the white-haired girl for the moment. 

"Good, then we'll be beginning. No further explanations will be given." Pinnley's abruptness knocks Rimi back.

The abruptness, and the hand that was suddenly pressed against her back. Rimi only saw the silver blur pass in front of her before she was thrown backward by a strong force. "Huh?!" She groans once her back hits the ground, lowering her sight to see who'd been responsible.

Pinnley stood in the same place he'd been when he announced that the training would begin. "What's the d-!" Again, another foot crashes into Rimi's side before she can properly bring herself to her feet. Another blur passed, but she didn't see it this time. 

Bringing her quirk to fruition, she stops herself mid-flight, suspended upside down. Dirt spreads through the hair that flops to the ground, but Rimi pays it no mind. Her eyes frantically scan around herself, trying to pinpoint the location of her attacker.

She understood what was going on only when her eyes spot the location where Izumi once resided. 

Without thinking further, Rimi rears her hand back as the blur approaches behind her. "Humph!" Striking forward, an abundance of force hits the ground, the fragile bones in her arms jittering from the intense pressure applied to them.

Rimi's body is thrown further into the air, with dirt and dust being spread out in conjunction with a sudden shockwave. The force grows across the entire area, blowing wind in Pinnley's direction while he watches. More importantly than Pinnley, Rimi's attacker is caught in the shockwave during their advance.

Launched away, a yelp escapes through the lips of Rimi's attacker. The yelp soon turns into a squeal as they are sent flying across the air with dangerous speed.

Before they can be launched into something, the butler appears behind them in a blur, catching their small frame into his arms. Meanwhile, Rimi—having failed to continue using her ability on herself after the shockwave—crashed down onto her back with a thud.

"That was a splendid start, Ms. Yonamine." Pinnley encourages from afar, holding the attacker in his arms.

Looking up, Rimi cannot suspend her disbelief when she discovers who her attacker was. The white-haired girl that she'd saved, the same one who Pinnley confidently claimed was only around to watch her train: Izumi Kiyabu. "..." Opening her mouth to speak, the child can't muster any words. The wind was thrown out of her chest from the impact on the ground.

"Yes, Yes. You might be curious about how the Young Miss is so powerful, right? That's because she's spent her entire life under my tutelage, obviously." Pinnley is soon standing over Rimi with a grin on his face, leaning over to meet her eyes. "When I told her that you were going to be joining us, she couldn't help but get so excited that she wanted to play with you." 

Izumi, who Rimi had severely underestimated, was at such a level where she could consider a fight with the red-stripped girl as child's play; a notion that Rimi couldn't believe herself.

Despite her lack of words, Izumi's giggling says enough to trigger an irritated tsk from Rimi.

"Thanks for saving me at the zoo!" Izumi cheerfully speaks to Rimi, who cannot pry herself from the ground.

"I didn't know how to thank you before, so I just didn't!" Once again, an irritated groan comes from Rimi as she tries pulling herself up.

"Oh... I think you might've used your quirk too much. You poor thing!" Escaping from Pinnley's grasp, Izumi happily stands over Rimi, locking eyes with her soon-to-be training partner. "You were super cool at the zoo! Forgive me if I get a bit too rough!" 

Pinnley's hands clap together, summoning a response from Izumi. 

The white-haired child steps away from Rimi, giving her space to breathe and collect her thoughts, despite the former being very possible. Even if she were annoyed, Rimi couldn't complain or argue after such an embarrassing display. Izumi, the girl that she'd saved, was this strong? It was a thought that Rimi could not easily swallow, but it was laid out so brutally in front of her face.

"Well, Ms. Yonamine, why don't you stand up and try again?" Pinnley asks, Izumi accompanying him by his side. "To first fix your behavior and mentality, I will have Young Miss continue playing with you until I think you've had enough." 

'This guy's enjoying this!' Pinnley seems to be enjoying her suffering, and it's hardly even begun yet!

Pinnley gives her a reminder. "Remember, the lesson for today is self-control!" Before Rimi can get herself off the ground, a familiar weight holds her body down. 

Izumi sits on her chest, her chin relaxed in the palms of her hands. "Get off of me," Rimi said, "you're heavy." Izumi gasps in shock, disturbed by Rimi's insult.

"Dearest, don't say that to me! You almost hurt my feelings!" After hearing Izumi's words, Rimi scrunched her face. 

Rimi questions, "'Dearest'? Why are you calling me that?" 

As if she hadn't heard anything after dearest, Izumi is drawn into a state of blissful ignorance. She places her hands against her cheeks, her face shining beneath a cherry-colored blush. "Oh! I didn't know you felt the same way as me!" Rocking from side to side, much like a feral creature, Izumi could not hear any of the protests coming from the girl pinned beneath her.

"When we're older, I'll buy an infinite-sized mansion for all our needs! It'll have princesses, knights, and wizards! I'll put a park on the first floor so that we can play every day! It'll have infinite games, and we'll stay there happily ever after, just like in those stories!" 

"Ah! I can get us pets too! As many pets as you want, actually! A pony, a unicorn, and maybe even a leprechaun! I don't know if they count as animals, but we can definitely keep one as a pet! For sure, for sure!" 

Blinded by her own childish excitement, Izumi fails to notice Rimi and her acerbic groans as time passes by. The rambling becomes unbearable, and soon, the white-haired child is ejected off of Rimi, who pulls herself onto her feet using her ability.

Passing winds are collected and accumulate in Rimi's hand as she prepares to unleash a blast of it at Izumi, who she expects to still be in the air. When she turns her body to send the blast, Rimi is stunned to discover that Izumi is not in the air. She instead feels her presence behind her, confirmed by her childish giggle. 

"That was fun! It reminds me of the zoo when we first met... You must've remembered too!"

Again, Rimi makes an attempt to swing her hand around to strike Izumi directly with the blast. Unfortunately, her balance is lost with a foot sweeps her off of her feet and off of the ground. "Wh—" Unable to finish, Izumi takes a more violent approach against Rimi.

"Bad girl!" Izumi's knee drills into Rimi's stomach, sending the girl flying in the direction of a nearby tree. "Wait, oh no!" Izumi didn't realize the direction she'd knocked the girl in until it was already too late. Before she can do anything, thankfully, her butler is already behind Rimi, stopping her before she can crash into anything.

"Young Miss, please try to exercise your own self-control." Pinnley gentle chides Izumi. "Ms. Yonamine could've been hurt."

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be that rough! I got a little excited, that's all!" Panicked, Izumi profusely apologizes. Although she has received Pinnley's training, it cannot change the fact that she is still a child who is prone to mistakes.

"Do not worry yourself too much, Young Miss. We all make mistakes." The gleeful aura that Pinnley emits is enough to suffocate Rimi, who he appears to have forgotten is held in his arms. 

She hasn't been here for long, but Rimi can already tell how painful this training will be for her. 'Self-control' just seems like a codeword for tormenting her. Pinnley, whose strength she can openly acknowledge, doesn't seem to want to bring himself to personally train her. Izumi, who she saved, is significantly more powerful than she'd given her credit for initially. 

This little killer has recognized that she may be getting more than she's bargained for.