The alley was damp and dimly lit, the soft drizzle doing little to wash away the blood pooling between the cracks in the cobblestones. Trash bins lined the walls, their contents long forgotten by anyone who cared. Fifteen-year-old Chuuya stumbled into the narrow space, clutching his side. His fingers were slick with blood, warm and fresh, dripping between them with each shaky breath. The knife wound, just under his ribs, burned with a fire that dulled his senses more by the second. He hadn’t seen it coming—not from them. Not from his own.

Only moments ago, he’d been walking beside a fellow Sheep member, one he trusted more than most. They’d shared food. Laughed. Planned their next job. And then, without warning, a glint of silver, a flash of betrayal. The blade had sunk deep into his side, and the words that followed were colder than the rain now soaking into his coat.

“You were never one of us.”

No chance to respond. No chance to fight back. The knife twisted, then pulled free. The boy—someone whose name Chuuya no longer wanted to remember—had left him there, as if he were nothing. A threat. A burden. Something to be discarded.

Chuuya pressed his back to the alley wall, legs buckling as the weight of his body became too much. He slid down, the rain making his hair stick to his forehead, crimson mixing with water on his pale skin. He tried to steady his breathing, but it came in harsh, ragged gasps. Every second was colder, blurrier, more distant.

He hated how quiet it was. How empty the streets felt. How alone he was.

Chuuya: “Tch… Damn bastard… Should’ve seen it coming…”

His voice was barely a whisper, breath fogging in the chill air. The world spun around him, shadows curling at the edges of his vision. He hated feeling weak. Hated how much it hurt. But more than anything—he hated that it had been them. That they’d chosen to stab him in the back rather than stand beside him.

And with that bitter thought, Chuuya’s body finally gave out, slumping sideways, blood soaking the pavement beneath him as his eyes fluttered shut.