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Over the Haul
Another day with feeding the bus.
No one's quite sure on how long it's been since the last time Mephistopheles needed fuel, yet it almost feels as it's been requiring more than usual lately.
Complaining wasn't going to speed up the process. Everyone couldn't help but complain anyway.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
Tch. Getting old, this piece.
Art that is repeated when it is not meant to be will eventually wear down somewhat. Someone like Ryōshū needed a change of material every now and then.
Inspiration was not bound to come from many of her coworkers. Nonetheless, she tapped the shoulder of the nearest person helping out with transport.
Lucky for her, Cosette didn't mind.
Cosette
LCB Sinner
Mmm...?
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
You. E.M. Sit by me for a moment.
"Entertain me." Cosette translated in her head. What could the artist possibly want now? She follows and, as requested, sits next to her.
Cosette
LCB Sinner
How shall I entertain?
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
Talk. Tell me a story.
The other sinner thinks, trying to construct a memory. Something to say that will please the crowd of one. Seconds pass too long, and Ryōshū snaps her fingers.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
Can't think? Need me to spell it out for you?
Cosette
LCB Sinner
Maybe...?
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
You know your way around.
A tilt of the head, as if not understanding. She knows her way around, because that was her job. At least, that was the initial thought.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
L.I.N. You know where to grab, where to cut. Not like the others, who were taught later.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
I see it. Don't take me for a fool. How did you learn?
Compared to a lot of of their coworkers, Cosette had much more of an idea on the basics of these kinds of hauling.
She learned from someone who was a master of these types of deals, but she didn't think it'd translate into her job, even now.
Cosette
LCB Sinner
If I had to be honest...
Cosette
LCB Sinner
I don't really remember.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
Ho?
Cosette
LCB Sinner
But...at the same time, I do remember.
Cosette
LCB Sinner
I think that learning to drag people who are barely breathing, and then throwing their bodies into a pit...aren't actions a child should be doing. Do you understand what I mean?
The interest of the artist grows at hearing that it was a childhood instinct. Sick and twisted as it was, such practices weren't uncommon. For most people who grew up in the Backstreets, their income comes from all around. She nods, taking a drag out of her cigarette, urging Cosette to continue.
Cosette
LCB Sinner
Yes. I know you understand. I don't remember many parts of my life.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
But you remember the feeling.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
Of red spilling all over your skin.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
A.I.C?
A nod. When it's about survival, or money, you do what you can. And Cosette here did everything she could. Her price for such was to bury it all deep within the depths of her mind, so she does not have to think about it anymore.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
Trying to forget will do you no good. Hmmhmm.
Cosette
LCB Sinner
When you say it like that...I can see how my body remembers in other ways.
Cosette
LCB Sinner
That's scary.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
A painter can go through years without holding a brush. But his hands will still recall how to stroke.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
Embrace that fact. It's all you have of that child.
Yes, the child who went through years of not understanding would eventually come and bear the knowledge passed down unwillingly. Though she does not remember the exact details, the words of her coworker struck a cord in her heart.
She stands up, taking a bow at the artist.
Cosette
LCB Sinner
I'm sorry, I have to end the entertainment here. I want to follow what you said.
Cosette smiles, half-heartedly, unsure if she means her own words.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
F.N.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
You'll rediscover eventually. As will I.
Ryōshū
LCB Sinner
Shall we?
The two of them get back to work, both sinners who could never truly bury what they wish to hide forever. They join hands and carry whatever is left.
Someday they will face what shaped them, and neither will be ready.