"It all started when we left the slums…We had already been old enough to find real jobs so we were able to save enough money to leave this shit hole."
Saying these words, his mind wandered back in time to those days. They were the best moments of his life. Leaving the slums, earning more money, and eating proper food all while sharing these moments with Dia…It was all perfect to the point where he felt like it was too good to be true.
Then, just like any other aspect of life, it got worse very quickly.
"Even though we thought that we shed away our past and left it behind….it kept chasing us. Because of that, we were fired from those jobs and kicked out of the place we rented…No one would want a child from a dangerous area of the city like the slums to live near them."
He sighed under his breath as he clenched his teeth. What ensued after that was tragic, to say the least. They passed days without finding a single piece of stale bread and even had to search the trash cans for anything that could be considered food. They also had to drink water from ponds.
When they were working under the boss, they at least had a roof over their head and some food on a daily basis. But, in that period of time, they didn't have anything. Or to be more precise, they lost everything.
"No matter how much I searched for any type of job to get us through the hunger ....I couldn't find anything…I still remember how you…."
He felt the hair on his arms stand whenever he remembered that scene. The scene of Dia tying a big rock around her stomach to relieve some of the pain she felt in her stomach from the lack of food, all while giving him the scraps of food she found with a huge effort.
"....Why didn't we go back to the slums?" She asked with a low voice. She couldn't believe her ears.
Acht chuckled sadly as he shook his head.
"Did you really think that we didn't try that? I had to suffer the pain of a broken arm for weeks after we met the boss again. He would've almost killed you if I didn't stop him." He said with a slightly colder tone.
A breath got stuck in Dia's throat as she heard his words. Her eyes started watering slightly and her mind became a chaotic mess of emotions.
"When we reached that point…I thought we would die…Seeing how you were withering away each day…How your body was deteriorating at a rapid pace…I really was on the verge of giving up… That's when I met him…."
Acht's eyes lost focus for a moment as he recalled how they met on that fateful day.
"I was searching through the trash can as usual…I recall it was a really bad day and I didn't find anything to eat…the hunger made me lose my temper so I kicked the trash can in anger and cursed loudly…Then, a weird man with a huge black coat and a black hat approached me…"
Acht then stopped for a moment to collect himself. It was really hard for him to talk about that past. It was akin to Pandora's box in a sense for him. So, it was already amazing that he was able to face Dia with the truth without breaking down.
"He told me that I looked pathetic and other harsh words that made me lash out at him…Then, he said that he has a solution for me…to join his organization and earn a lot of money to escape that killing poverty…."
Dia wiped the tears on her face and asked.
"What kind of organization?"
"...."
Acht opened his mouth to speak before closing it again.
'I already made up my mind, goddammit.' he clenched his teeth before taking a breath.
"A hitman organization…."
Silence. An Absolute silence that not even the sounds of cars could ease up by a bit. Acht felt each second pass like an hour as he waited for Dia to speak.
"...I see…so you became…a hitman?"
He nodded his head quietly.
"I had no other choice…If I didn't do that…I would've seen you die in my arms…I couldn't live with that memory in my head…It would've been torture…"
"...."
"I started training as a hitman in that organization and soon our financial situation became a lot better and we were able to change our lives...Though, I kept that job a secret since I didn't want to make you hate me…But, what happened was something that even I didn't expect…It was the huge cost of such a risky job…"
He then lifted himself up and leaned on the wall behind him.
"Since the moment I joined that organization…I had a talent for that job and quickly rose up the ranks of hitmen there…I was able to take most job calls and became the most wanted hitmen by the clients…this angered the other hitmen and they tried to kill me multiple times but I was able to come out unscathed each time…"
"So, they took a different approach to the situation. Instead of targeting me, they decided to target…you." He pointed at Dia with his hand. His limbs were shaking slightly and his breathing was slightly erratic.
Dia was silent all this time. The only thing she did was silently listen to the story with tears filling her eyes.
"I was oblivious to it…But, one day…when I came home…I found the door broken…I was shocked and I ran inside to check out what happened…the whole Appartement was destroyed…it was as if a war had just happened inside…I shouted your name multiple times as I ran around searching every room…Then, I found you…laying in one of the rooms, soaked in your own blood."
A tear fell down his eye as he shook his head left and right. The image was still as vivid as it could get. It lived rent-free in his head.
"At first, I thought you died…But when I checked your condition…I found you still breathing albeit weakly…your eyes have been sliced with a knife and your legs were broken beyond recognition…Those fuckers…They didn't want to kill you…they wanted you to live like a cripple for the rest of your life…"
At that point, Acht was already crying. He couldn't hold himself any longer. He wasn't a cold and ruthless person from the start. It's this cruel world that shaped him to be that devil. It was the scars that got inflicted on him throughout his life that made him that emotionless and that scene of Dia in that state was like the last nail in the coffin for him.
After ending his long monologue. He looked at Dia and waited for her reaction. He had already forgotten the fact that this was an illusion created by the goddess to play with him. He wanted to see how Dia would have reacted if he told her the truth.
A few moments passed, then, Dia suddenly stood up and walked to his side. Then, she looked down at him with her deep blue eyes and muttered a few incoherent words that he couldn't understand.
"What di-"
Before he could even mutter any words, he felt his body getting pulled and then a soft feeling invaded his senses. Dia had pulled him into a tight hug. Then, with her soft hands, she started caressing his hair in the most gentle way possible, as if she was dealing with a piece of glass that was about to break.
"You went through a lot, Acht…it's ok…everything is ok…I know that you have been trying to put on that front for a long time…but, it's ok to empty out your feelings from time to time…"
Her words were like a divine melody in his ears. A symphony of sadness and joy, of hope and despair. It was a contrasting mix of emotions that played with his heart.
"I will never hate you, Acht…No matter how much you think you are a bad person or a cruel human being…I know deep down that you are caring and kind...So, don't blame yourself or anything…I don't blame you on anything and I don't think that the future me would've hated you because of it either."
Acht couldn't believe her words. How could she forgive him just like that? After all the things that happened to her because of him? After all that suffering and lying and all the pain, she felt all her life. How could she be that merciful?
'No…she had always been like that…She had always been overly kind.' He smiled as he closed his eyes and let the tears trail down his face freely.
There was no reason to put on a front at this point. Just for once, he wanted to stop being what people saw him as and be something that he wished to be once. Something that was the direct opposite of what he was now.
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