Clown

The woman handed the warm tea to Leo, who drank it in a blink of an eye.

"Slow down," Madam Alicia said, "You could choke on it.

Leo placed the cup on the tray.

"Thanks."

"C'mon," Madam Alicia said, "I'm just doing what a good auntie should do. Watching out for her nephew."

"Yeah. You've done a great job."

Madam Alicia ignored his sarcasm. "Now, what the hell were you doing in Lower Half territory? From what I've heard, you got entangled with a gifted."

"Yeah. But right now, she is not my concern anymore."

"You took quite a beating for something that doesn't concern you."

"It was a mistake I made, that was all. I shouldn't have helped her in the first place."

"This…girl, who is she?"

"Her name was Meimei Von…I don't remember, but she was an above-dweller. She had a fire gift, and her bright energy was… off."

Madam Alicia parted the brown bang from her eyes.

"Sounds to me that you did well by helping her, don't you think?"

"But look at me now, I almost died, I have probably have broken bones, and she gets to run off into the sunset, happy."

"She'd be scared, Leo. She'd be really, really scared. Think about it. Being alone in a place like this, not knowing what to do, who to go to help from, and the one person who does help you is nowhere in sight."

"It isn't my problem. It isn't our problem."

"Leo, Leo, Leo. Why are you trying to be like the bad guys around here? The boy I knew smiled more often."

"Well that boy is gone, Auntie. Whoever killed my mom made sure of that. And you are the only one I have left, so I'm not going to risk my life for someone who will not help me."

Madam Alicia sighed, shaking her head. She sat beside Leo, putting an arm over his shoulder.

"Leo," she said, "You are right. I am the only family you have left. And you are not wrong for trying to put on a strong face to survive here. But sometimes, being strong won't cut it. If you abandon everything that your mother taught you, you'll end up regretting it."

"Like you?"

Madam Alicia smiled, "Yes, Leo, Like me. You'll wish to start over, from scratch. Redo of everything, make the right decision, and do…be better. And who knows, by the time that time comes, it may be too late."

Madam Alicia stood up to go.

"Oh yes, by the way, I have finally set up everything. In a couple of days, you'll be living with me."

"Yay." Leo said, lying down.

"Good night."

Madam Alicia closed the door behind her, leaving Leo alone, the latter who could not sleep. For some odd reason, he felt that he needed to find her. He had barely known the girl for a single day and yet…plus his body ached. His chest hurt badly. Hopefully he won't have to meet them again, once he moved in with his aunt.

They were probably in the Zero ground, judging from the lights that shown in the far distance. Getting a house in both the Lower Half and Upper Half was a difficulty, considering the fact that any empty house was either a haven for orphans or a one-time gang. Getting a house in the zero ground was that easy as well, but thanks to the no violence rule and the orphanage, such empty houses was unoccupied.

But deep down, Leo was actually happy for his aunt. Really, he was. Considering everything the two of them had been through; from the circumstances that they had met till now, she had really improved. And changed. Leo looked out the window, at the snow that fell from the sky, and at the people that walked to and fro, without a care in the world, as if the gangs didn't exist.

The reason why most residents in the other two halves didn't move to the zero ground was the guy actually prevented access into it. If all the people that they controlled had a choice, they'd be in the zero ground, overcrowding the place, leaving the halves a desolate land. That would leave the Orca and Wolves powerless; with no one to exert their power and fear on.

Leo himself didn't actually like the Zero ground, or rather, he didn't like the orphanage. The fact that the one person who could keep the peace decided to enclose himself in a single confined area was disgusting to him.

Thinking about it made his head hurt. He lay back down on the bed, closing his eyes. It was only after a few minutes that he truly slept, for the first time in a while.