(Mensis 28, 42 / 8:22PM)

  A baby's cries can be heard throughout the humid bedroom, the humidity causing the baby to be coated with hot and sticky sweat and other bodily fluids.

  In a dark room with only a lightbulb present, lying in bed was a woman encased with her hard sweat, her breath hot and murky. Tilting her head upwards, she saw many beads of water on the ceiling, dropping along her exhausted body.

  She parted her legs as blood dripped down from underneath. In front of her, a man with a beard carried in his arms a small newborn baby, his eyes softening as he started rocking it back and forth.

  (???) Our daughter…

  The man who carried his newborn daughter held his finger on his daughter’s lips, rubbing it as he continued to look into her bck-colored eyes. Speaking in a fragile voice, he continued to rub her lips with his soft finger.

  (???) She’s beautiful.

  Looking up to see the woman staring at the baby’s cries, the woman brought her hands up, with shining tears. Walking towards the woman in bed, he rested his daughter in her arms.

  Putting her daughter near her chest, she rubbed the back of her head. Lifting her head towards her husband, she let out a warm smile, the corners of her lips reaching her nose.

  (???) She looks a lot like you. She has your snted eyes and your bck hair.

  (???) And she has the same thin hair as you do. What should we name her, my dear?

  The man softly pced his hand on his wife’s shoulder, his hands sticky and sweaty as a droplet of sweat touched down on the floor. The woman, still rocking the baby near her chest, looked towards the baby’s crying face.

  (???) Jennifer, but Jenny sounds cuter and shorter.

  The door to the room creaked open.

  The man turned his head towards the door, his eyes focusing on four kids peeking in the room.

  (???) Should we let them in my dear?

  (???) Of course. I want them to see Jenny.

  Taking his left hand off of his wife’s shoulder, the man walked into the center of the room, his body facing the direction of the door.

  (???) You can come in now. Make sure your hands are clean if you want to hold her.

  The four kids slowly walked in, their footsteps quiet on the hardwood. Focusing their entire attention on the newborn baby being held by the woman, the kids ignored the humidity of the room, despite their bodies already being beaded with sweat.

  From oldest to youngest, was a boy with a brown cowboy hat, another boy wearing a cross neckce, and a girl with dark purple hair wearing gloves.

  And a ginger-haired boy with messy hair.

  And in front of the group was a girl, followed by the two oldest boys side by side, and the young ginger-haired kid in the back.

  (???) Iris, do you want to see your sister?

  (Iris) Yes, father.

  Iris, the 10-year-old girl, walked forward to see the newborn face, who was still crying in her mother's arms. Seeing her mother’s warm tears roll down her cheeks, Iris put her hands on her mother’s arm.

  (Iris) Can I hold her mother?

  (???) Of course, you can.

  Gently giving the baby to Iris, Iris held the warm newborn in her arms, her face looking down at her sister. Noticing the lightness of her body, Iris started rocking the baby back and forth until…

  Jenny cried out more than before.

  (Iris) Uh… mother?

  (???) I guess she doesn’t like you. It’s ok dear, she’ll warm up to you eventually.

  Iris’s mother put her hand to her mouth as her body began to y motionless on the blood-stained bed. Looking at the three boys who stared at Iris and her newborn sister with curious eyes, Iris’s mother pushed a strand of her dark purple hair out of her eye.

  Noticing the ginger-haired boy having his hands in his pockets, the woman extended her hand, waving to him to come forward.

  (???) Don’t be shy Kenichi. You can see her.

  (Kenichi) A-Are you sure, Erina?

  (???) My wife wants you to go, so do what she says, boy.

  (Kenichi) O-Ok Kenji!

  (Kenji) Remember to call me sir, boy.

  The shy ginger-haired boy bowed down towards Kenji, his face flustered as he brought his hands out of his pockets.

  Kenji, a bck-haired man with monolid eyes, folded his arms as he eyed the shy boy. Erina meanwhile, continued to have a warm smile on her face, her body rexed as Kenichi made his way towards where Iris was at.

  Iris continued to struggle to control Jenny, who was bawling her eyes out. Seeing Kenichi, a boy who was a year younger than her, extending his hands to receive the baby, Iris pushed the baby onto him.

  (Iris) You take her. I don’t want to deal with her.

  (Kenji) Be nice Iris, she’s your sister.

  Having the baby in his arms, Kenichi looked around to see everyone staring at him. Gently rocking the baby back and forth, Kenichi looked at the baby as her cries suddenly stopped.

  The baby opened its bck eyes as it saw the ginger-haired boy’s face, and upon seeing the gentle care of his face…

  Jenny decided to sleep softly. Erina, putting her hand onto her mouth again as she chuckled, softly looked at Kenichi who focused his eyes on Jenny.

  (Erina) I guess Jenny likes you, Kenichi.

  Kenichi turned his gaze towards Erina, his face reddened and filled with hot sweat. Looking away from Erina, the boy looked down onto the ground, noticing two shadows behind him.

  (???) Hey David, will Jenny give Kenichi a hard time?

  (David) That would be pretty funny. Hirious even.

  Kenichi looked away with a flustered face, pouting as he turned his face back towards the sleeping Jenny. Feeling the heaviness of Jenny already, despite her being light, Kenichi’s arms started to get exhausted.

  Kenji took a good look at the grandfather clock near the bedroom drawer, his hands unfolding as he put them on his sides.

  (Kenji) Time for bedtime boys. You guys have a lot of training tomorrow.

  (David) But Kenji, tomorrow’s Saturday?

  (Kenji) I adopted you boys because I see potential in all of you. You better go to sleep before I put you in the ring with Iris.

  (David, Gabriel, and Kenichi) Ok…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Kalemonath 14, 45 / 8:01AM)

  Four years and five months ter…

  Blossoms began to sprout towards the end of winter, the purple blossoms radiating the rge garden that grew tall grass and fertile soil. With the smell of early spring radiating across all corners of the garden, the smell makes it hard for men to feel butterflies and rainbows.

  In the middle of the garden lies a gentle streaming river, flowing clear water as it spreads throughout the crops and pnts near the little banks. Crops such as simple carrots, potatoes, and beets created an earthy aroma along the center of the garden.

  The sounds of sparring can be heard in a small field with short grass and infertile soil.

  (Kenichi’s thoughts) Why is she this strong!? Couldn’t I fight someone like Gabriel for a change?!

  Kenichi wielded a sparring hard stick, causing his hands to blister as he thrusted his entire body. His movements were amateurish for his sparring and strength were retively mediocre compared to his adoptive sister.

  In front of him was Iris. Her long dark purple hair swayed in motion with the stick as she battered her arms down at the 14-year-old ginger-haired boy. Opposite of him, her moves were practically fwless.

  In no time, Iris managed to knock Kenichi down, using her sparring wood stick to thumb the top of his head in a loud snap. Falling on his bottom, Kenichi pced both of his hands on top of his head, and his eyes saw in front of him the same stick being in front of his face.

  (Kenichi) Ow!…

  (Iris) You just have a bruise you wimp. Even Gabriel doesn’t compin this much.

  Still caressing the top of his head, Kenichi looked up as Iris folded her arms, her face looking down on him. Slowly, Kenichi got up as he shook away the dirt and grime off of his butt and back thighs.

  Both started to walk towards the other end of the garden, with Kenichi pcing his left hand on the back of his head.

  Meanwhile, Iris continued to frown as she crossed her arms. Looking towards Kenichi, his face started to fluster red as he avoided eye contact with her, causing her to sharpen her eyes at him.

  (Iris) You know that look won’t make me kinder to you.

  (Kenichi) I know… I’m sorry.

  (Iris) Honestly, be more like David or something. He has ten times more confidence than you do.

  (Kenichi) That’s because he’s the strongest one here. I’m not that strong, or fast… I’m kind of the bck sheep here…

  (Iris) Well if you’re the sheep, then David’s the shepherd you have to follow .

  Iris then stopped walking as she turned her entire body towards Kenichi.

  (Iris) You shouldn’t be that shy. Cause, believe me, most people use other people’s shyness to get what they want.

  Noticing Kenichi’s silence, Iris let out a sigh, her face sharpened even more as her right eye started to sprout a vein. Kenichi, who still turned his head away from Iris, looked towards his right side, his face down as his cheeks flustered even more.

  (Iris) What? What is it? Say something.

  (Kenichi) I-It’s nothing…

  (Iris) I know you want to say something, so say it.

  (Kenichi) I said … I said it’s nothing.

  Iris turned her body back towards the direction of the end of the garden, her hands forming into tight fists.

  (Iris) tch … Whatever, just follow me.

  Walking towards the end of the end of the garden, Kenichi noticed two boys older than him, both of them having envelopes in their hands.

  One of the boys was 16 and had a golden cross neckce, with his bck hair tied up in a bun.

  While the other boy was 17 and had a brown cowboy hat, eating an ice cream cone.

  Reaching the two of them, Kenichi and Iris stood in front of them, sweat and some dirt on their clothes as they saw the two teens. David, his ice cream cone slightly melting on his right hand, looked towards Kenichi.

  (David) So how was sparring?

  (Kenichi) It was ok. She was stronger than me, but it was nothing too bad.

  (Iris) He was way too weak. Gabriel put up a better fight than him.

  Kenichi looked down towards the tall grass as his ears perked up, covering his face with both his hands as his face hottened.

  (Gabriel) Hahahaha … oh man, this means I’m not the weakest out of the bunch.

  (David) Hehe … don’t go to that harsh man, he’s just 14.

  (Gabriel) Hey, better for him than me.

  Iris, who had a vein sprouting onto her forehead, clenched her fists tightly as she put herself in front of Kenichi. Looking towards Gabriel mostly, her eyes sharpened ferociously, while Kenichi stood behind with his hands cusped in between them.

  (Iris) Quiet! You’re starting to annoy me.

  (Gabriel) Why do you always appear to give aid to Kenichi? Do you like him or something?

  (Iris) pfft … no, too wimpy for my taste.

  (Gabriel) I don’t know … you always seem to get passive-aggressive whenever someone talks about him, especially when a girl compliments him.

  (Iris) Whatever. What are those envelopes?

  Iris looked down towards the two white envelopes that both David and Gabriel had, her cheeks flustered for a second before she repced them with bulging hidden veins on her neck.

  David and Gabriel both looked downwards, their eyes avoiding eye contact with her as they shook the envelopes on both of their left hands. Looking up towards Iris, David’s voice slightly broke as his eyes were droopy.

  (David) Me and Gabriel are being drafted into the war. They needed all the men they could get so they extended the age from 18 to 13.

  Iris turned her head towards Kenichi, her eyes widening at the ginger-haired boy. Looking back towards the other two, Iris gulped down as she straightened her back, a bead of sweat rolling down her right temple.

  (Iris) I thought it was just a bunch of riots.

  (David) They say it’s a civil war at this point. They’re calling it the Great Demi-Human Skirmishes. A bunch of skirmishes and battles have been going nonstop recently in parts of our country and Aizzonia, so I guess the government is that desperate.

  (Gabriel) Yeah, and I heard Kepputha and Ticia are under intense curfews and lockdowns, I heard major cities like Lagefor and Ticia are filled with rioters.

  (Iris) But why teens…

  Iris’s hands started to shake, her knuckles on the verge of breaking as she continued to eye Kenichi. Noticing her sharpening eyes towards him, Kenichi looked away, turning his head towards his right side.

  Until a little girl with gsses ran up towards Kenichi, tackling his leg from behind. With enough force, she managed to move Kenichi forward a couple of steps.

  (Jenny) Kenny!

  (Kenichi) Hey Jenny. Be careful when you ram me.

  Kenichi turned his focus towards Jenny, who continued to hug his left leg tightly. Pecking his right hand on Jenny’s head, her four-and-a-half-year-old body warming up as she clung to him.

  His face softened, with no redness or flustering from his cheeks, his eyes seeing the little bundle of fire tightly clutching around his leg, causing him to stay put.

  (Jenny) Piggyback!

  (Kenichi) Come on Jenny, I’m in the middle of…

  (Jenny) Piggyback!

  (Kenichi) Oh fine…

  Untangling herself from his leg, Jenny walked in front of him as he carried her upward with his rough hands. Putting her onto his back, she clung her arms onto his neck, causing him to lose air for a second.

  Despite this, Kenichi didn’t pay any mind to Jenny’s tight grip. Turning his face back towards the three, he scratched his cheek with his right hand, the ck of facial hair upon his youthful face.

  (Kenichi) I guess this means I’ll be going to…

  (David) Yeah, but I heard teens can be in the same regiment as their friends so that’s a plus.

  Everyone felt a sense of relief, their breaths letting go in unison. Kenichi, looking towards Gabriel, noticed that his lips formed an evil-like grin, his smile causing Iris to fold her arms and tap her foot.

  (Gabriel) Don’t worry Kenichi, I’ll take care of you. Oh yeah, I heard a myth that if you give a girl flowers after a war, that girl will forever be your wife.

  Turning his head towards Iris, her hands turned into fists as she continued to fold her arms in pce.

  (Iris) And? Your point is?

  (Gabriel) If Kenichi makes it out alive, I’ll force him to give you flowers.

  (Iris) Please stop talking.

  Having veins bulging out of her neck and forehead, Iris gred at Gabriel, her face reddened from both anger and something else. His face turning pale, he slowly put his hands in front of him as he took a couple of steps back.

  But Jenny, still clutching onto Kenichi’s neck, had her ears perked up as she remembered the myth. Pcing her head right next to his ear, Jenny showcased a bright smile as her hands tightened his neck.

  (Jenny) Kenny! Give me flowers!

  (Kenichi) What?

  (Iris) Jenny!

  (Jenny) Give me flowers! Pinky promise!

  (Kenichi) Jenny, you’re still only four…

  (Jenny) Promise!

  Now feeling the tightness of his neck starting to slightly suffocate him, Kenichi put his pinky up towards Jenny.

  Making a vow, Jenny let out a cheerful smile as she put her arms in the air, letting go of Kenichi’s neck.

  (Jenny) Yay!

  (Kenichi’s thoughts) She’s just a little kid, I’m sure she’ll forget eventually.

  Iris tapped her foot violently, her forehead and neck bulging with veins as she looked toward Kenichi. Noticing her deathly gre, he flustered his cheeks as he looked away, avoiding eye contact with her.

  (Iris) tch … Fine go ahead, I don’t like flowers anyway.

  (Gabriel) … Iris?

  (Iris) What?

  (Gabriel) You lost your crush to your little sister… I never thought I would see that with my own—

  Iris thrust her leg into Gabriel’s bloodline, causing him to colpse onto the tall grass.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Mensis 21, 45 / 11:32AM)

  One year and seven months ter…

  (Iris) Come on, pick up the pace!

  In the same purple blossom garden, the cshing of wooden sticks can be heard. On the doorstep of winter, the purple blossoms slowly withered away as many droplets were scattered across the infertile soil that the two girls were in.

  The smell of early spring was long gone, with the scent of body odor and sweat coming from one particur area.

  (Jenny) Stop!

  (Iris) And you’re done.

  Doing a baby remix of her original bald, Iris smacked away the stick that Jenny fought with, causing Jenny to pout, her cheeks puffing up red. Iris, who smirked smugly at her, pced her stick to the ground, her forehead and neck not breaking a sweat.

  (Iris) You’re too slow Jenny.

  Jenny clenched her fists as her eyes started to contain rolled-down tears, hitting the dry soil as her legs started to quiver.

  (Jenny) You’re mean!

  (Iris) I don’t care. You need to learn how to fight properly. How are you going to defend yourself?

  (Jenny) Kenny will!

  (Iris) sighs … That damn wimp. Don’t rely on men to fight your battles, Jenny, it’s not a good mindset.

  Iris looked away towards the decaying cherry blossom trees in the garden, feeling the slight chill of the wind on her nape. Noticing that Jenny was starting to shiver from the sudden gust of wind, Iris held out her hand towards her, her eyes gentle as her rough hand filled with calluses was inches away from Jenny.

  (Iris) Here, take my hand. Let’s get something for lunch.

  (Jenny) hmp.

  Despite Jenny continuing to puff up her face, Iris grabbed her hand firmly, as both of them walked through the decaying garden. Feeling Jenny’s hand tighten, Iris rolled her eyes as Jenny continued to look down towards the tall grass.

  Iris noticed the clouds overhead starting to dampen the light from the sun.

  (Iris’s thoughts) I guess today is going to be cloudy…

  Reaching the end of the garden, Iris opened the white shoji door, gently pcing her hand on the sliding handle. Opening the door, she used her left hand to push Jenny in, before softly closing it back.

  But as soon as they got in, they noticed both their mother and father in front of the door, looking down. Kenji, their father, had his hands formed into fists, his fists shuddered as his jaw started to grind between one another.

  Meanwhile, Erina, their mother, csped her right hand onto her mouth, a river of tears flowing outwards as her left hand was pced onto her stomach, clutching it tightly.

  Iris, looking towards Jenny, pced her hand on Jenny’s back, her eyes narrowing at Jenny’s confused face.

  (Iris) Jenny, go to your room…

  (Jenny) But I thought we’re going to get lunch—

  (Iris) Just go!

  Pushing Jenny out of her sight, she jerked her head towards where her parents were, her body shaking as her breathing started to turn irregur. Slowly walking towards her parents, each step on the dark wood creaks loudly, causing her to cusp her hands tight, as if she wanted to break them.

  Putting herself in between her parents, she noticed two boys in front of them, their faces looking downwards. Iris, her jaw opened, covered her mouth as her head arched back.

  (Iris’s thoughts) David and Gabriel … they look older…

  Before they left, Iris recalled the youthfulness of both boys, their faces smooth with little to no facial hair. Now they had a few wrinkles on their jawline and cheeks, their foreheads filled with sweat and their eye bags were completely dark with gray, covering the entirety of their eyes.

  Iris put her hands to herself, her back straightening upwards despite her face on the verge of breaking. Focusing her eyes on both David and Gabriel, she folded her arms like usual, yet they started to shake.

  (Iris) Where’s Kenichi?

  David sluggishly looked up towards Iris, his eyes red and his hands motionless. Without opening the edges of his mouth, David forcingly moved his right hand towards his jacket’s pocket, the world bnketing white. Holding in her breath, Iris awaited the suspense, as David brought out…

  A small red rose, taped together with a photo of Kenichi.

  (David) I’m sorry…

  David turned his head away as his confidence faded away into the winter wind.

  Iris walked backward, her head swaying side to side. Her chest began to push upwards and downwards more, her legs twitching in a frenzy, her hands motionless as her eyes…

  Looking away, she pushed her legs off the wooden floor, towards the direction of her room. Ignoring everything, every sound, every brought, every pain in her heart, she reached the end of the hall, opened her door, and smmed it shut.

  (Jenny) Where’s Kenny…

  Gabriel gnced as David let a single tear drip from his face, rolling down his cheek onto the red rose, which caused Gabriel to motionlessly let out a stream of tears out of both his eyes, his head in pce as he stared at Jenny.

  Jenny looked at the two boys, those boys who were considered to be the strongest boys that she ever met, who were slowly breaking down right in front of her.

  Erina pced her trembling right hand onto Jenny’s shoulder, her quivering throat causing her to let her voice break as she spoke to Jenny.

  (Erina) Kenichi’s r-ran away from here… he moved away to—

  (David) He’s dead Jenny. Kenny’s gone…

  Crouching down towards Jenny, David extended both his arms to pull Jenny into him, giving her a tight hug as her head was on top of David’s left shoulder. David’s hands shook with vigor as his eyes desperately held back his tears.

  Jenny remained still, as her entire body was stuck onto David’s hug. For several seconds, Jenny remained silent as her heartbeat pounded against her tiny body, causing David to look at the ground.

  (David) I’m sorry…

  Suddenly, Jenny’s eyes let out a tsunami of tears that continued to roll down onto David’s shoulder. With the shroud of water pouring out of her, Jenny clutched herself onto David, her body completely loose as she wailed.

  Tightening the hug around Jenny, David let out another tear from his eye. Continuing to look down, he spoke in a gentle tone.

  (David) …

  Her mouth was wide open, her nostrils fred, and most importantly of all…

  Jenny’s eyes looked upwards to the heavens above, hoping to see the ginger-faced boy one st time…