CHAPTER 37

A few minutes after the game started, some children collaborated. Some formed a partnership, while others moved in groups to search for anything black.

"What did you find?" OAR48 asked the two other children with him. They are now sitting in the living room of a two-story abandoned house they entered earlier. The children searched for any black items inside and planned to distribute them to each other.

"Not much. Just a black book and this bead," OID76 answered and showed a small bead resembling a marble. He put it on the small table in front of them and placed the bead on top of the book's hardcover, where there were engravings to stop it from rolling.

Their eyes then shifted to OSZ61, expecting her to show what she found, but she was busy fixing the towel she was sitting on.

"Seriously! Of all the places we had to play, they chose such a dirty place! I feel so icky just by sitting here!" She complained with evident disgust on her face.

Like any other area, the house was also abandoned, and most furniture was either broken or extremely filthy. The sofa they were sitting on was part of the latter, but there were no other places they could sit on and meet. OSZ61 had no choice but to place a towel between her pure white jogging pants and a moldy sofa and try not to touch anything else.

"Why can't we just do this outside?" She whined in her high-pitched voice, her brown sandy eyes looking at a moldy corner as if traumatized. She felt like the molds were like insects slowly crawling on her skin. It gives her goosebumps whenever she thinks it will stick to her clothes and slowly towards her skin. She prefers to stay on the forest-like roads outside rather than the forsaken house.

OAR48 shook his head and calmly explained. "We can't do it outside. Someone might steal our finds."

Irked, OSZ61 looked at OAR48. "Who would steal this trash?" she said, pointing at a clear plastic bag full of black objects.

"Wow, you found a lot!" OID76 exclaimed and scanned the various items inside the clear plastic. There were black cups, socks, a pen, a ball, a mask, and more.

Although OSZ61 was raised in a wealthy household that treated her like royalty, she was also highly competitive and hardworking, as she had brothers and sisters who were intelligent and talented oddities. But because she was the youngest, her parents spoiled her, resulting in her having a bratty and proud attitude.

"Of course! Im amazing. It's not even a difficult task. Why do you only manage to find two?" She nitpicked, her small face with plump cheeks looking down at the little boy beside her, proud that she outnumbered the other two.

OID76's icy blue eyes glared at her. He was already upset that OAR48 invited the girl to go with them, but now he also had to deal with her mean personality. "It's not my fault! It's you who's weird. You kept complaining that it was dirty, but you still picked every black object you saw. Even the ones that are broken!"

OSZ61's eyebrows formed a frown, her chest pumped up, and her arms automatically crossed. "Why are you shouting at me?! You're such a kid making a fuss over a loss!"

Shocked, OID76 yelled back. "What loss?! You're the kid who kept whining!"

Feeling offended that the little boy called her a kid, OSZ61 stood up with a stomp. "I'm not a kid! I'm nine!"

"I'm also nine, so I'm not a kid!" OID76 fired back and stood in front of her.

Surprised at how things escalated, OAR48 went between the two, "Let's not fight. We're all kids."

OSZ61 pouted and rolled her eyes, her hands still crossed before her chest. "It's his fault."

"What-"

"Enough! Let's just distribute everything quickly and get out of here. Okay?" OAR48 suggested and inserted his hands into his pocket to get the small objects he found inside the house.

He was still looking at the two with wary eyes when he stilled, and the wariness was replaced with disbelief.

Seeing his expression, OID76 raised a brow. "What's wrong?"

OAR48 slowly pulled out his hands from his pocket and opened his palm to reveal... nothing.

"It's gone," he muttered with wide eyes.

"What is?" OSZ61 asked with her still sassy tone.

"The black things I found, I had four in my pocket, but it's gone," OAR48 explained, staring at his empty palm.

"Are you sure?" OID76 asked and checked OAR48's pockets. When he found nothing, he also checked OAR48's body but didn't find anything.

"It's stolen..." OAR48 muttered when he remembered the story of the other children he met earlier. "I think it's the thief that the other children mentioned. Their things suddenly got stolen, and they started to accuse each other."

"But how? We are the only ones in here. Are you sure you didn't leave it somewhere else?" OSZ61 asked.

"I didn't! I'm sure it's just in my pocket."

"Wait, the book and marble's gone..." OAR48 said when he realized the things on the table were also gone.

"Oh gosh! Yours too?! Did you notice anything?" OSZ61 asked while clutching the plastic bag, scared the thief might steal hers too. She had spent so much time finding black things while enduring dust. She would not let such a thief steal them even though they were trash.

"Nothing! The door was closed earlier. We would notice if anyone entered," OID76 answered.

"Is it you?" OSZ61 accused OID76 and tightened her grip on the plastic bag.

"Hey! I got mine stolen, too! Don't accuse me!" He denied it and felt annoyed that the little girl was targeting him.

"Maybe it's you. You're the only one who didn't get stolen from! After all, you have so many black objects. You stole those, didn't you?" OID76 implied.

OSZ61 put her hands on her hips, "You dare accuse me! Me?! The youngest daughter of the Legarve family of Sand Clan?! I would stoop so low. You will regret this!"

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"Hey, don't fight! Let's think of possible reasons to avoid our things getting stolen in the future," OAR48 suggested.

OSZ61 crossed her arms and looked away.

"She started it," OID76 muttered. He felt it was unfair but decided to let go as he finds OSZ61 childish. "Maybe there's someone who used their ability?" He suggested.

"Could be, but I've never heard of an ability that makes things vanish. Is that even possible?" OAR48 said.

"A super-fast hand?" OSZ61 suggested.

"Possible, but where could they hide so many items?" OAR48 thought. To him, a fast hand was more likely than an ability that vanishes as it could be a basic ability of other children.

"If the thief that stole our things was the same one who stole from other children, then it will have tons of black items now, right?" OID76 stated.

"Yeah. What about it?" OSZ61 answered. Her tone was still cheeky, but OID76 ignored it.

"It's impossible for a child to carry all stolen items without inventory or spatial bag. The thief must have hidden it somewhere. Piles of black objects," OAR48 expressed. He realized what OID76 was pointing out.

The three children exchanged looks, and the atmosphere lightened up. Their gleaming eyes heated with enthusiasm as they discovered a way to win.

"But what if we didn't find where the thief hid it?" OSZ61 asked. She was worried their time limit would be over even before they managed to get near the stolen items.

OAR48 nodded, acknowledging the little girl's concern. "Then, to be sure, let's carry a few black objects. What do you guys think?"

"Yeah, let's do that," OID76 agreed.

The three children nodded and started planning where to explore first. Although they do not have a map to check where they are currently located, they all decided to go north as it is where most slanted skyscrapers are.

Meow.

'Hmm? What's that?' OAR48 thought and looked back. His eyes were roaming the messy living room.

"Hey, did you hear that?" OAR48 asked, still looking around.

"What?" OSZ61 asked and watched the former walk toward a pile of debris.

OAR48 lifted a broken plank and inspected the rubbles under, "I think there's a cat."

"Why would a cat be here?" OSZ61 commented with her usual sassy tone.

"But I heard it..." OAR48 muttered, confused as a cat was unlikely to be where they were.

Meow.

"See! Look!"

A black cat stepped out from the shadows and looked at the three children with glimmering green rounded eyes. Its fur was pure raven, and its body was slim and thin, looking like a starved stray cat that had not eaten for days. Despite that, its tail was slowly wagging left and right, seemingly happy to see the group.

Meow.

"It's a black cat! How cute!" OSZ61 exclaimed excitedly. She placed the bag on the table and quickly approached the cat. Like the children they are, they were immediately smitten with the cat's cuteness, and they couldn't resist petting it.

Meow.

The other two followed OSZ61 and crouched beside her, surrounding the cat, meowing cutely to them. It even rubbed its head on OSZ61's hand, which was petting its head.

"It's been a long time since I've seen a cat. I miss our dogs," OID76 reminisced. He had several pets at their house, and he used to play with them most of the time because his parents and older brother were always busy.

"You only have dogs? We have cat type Auveasts. They were my brothers' and sisters' pets, but Daddy said I could have one once I entered my Core Space", OSZ61 bragged proudly. She was again in a great mood as she felt like she had won.

OID76 glared at the little girl and grumpily looked away. Before he could refute it, OAR48 spoke. He knew the two would fight again like cats and dogs, so he intervened.

"We have dog type Auveasts. They're our family pets. They all have wings and know how to fly. So once I gained an elemental ability, I will fly with them and play in the air."

OAR48 let out a sad smile as he remembered their playful pets. They are all very energetic dog Auveasts who like to run and fly around. He used to play catch with them, especially when his parents were busy.

'Are they looking for me? I hope they're not lonely by themselves.'

"I wonder how they are. I miss them," OAR48 whispered, his eyes glistening with worry and missing home.

The other two noticed OAR48 getting emotional, and they silently looked away, trying to stop getting too emotional and ending up crying. They are also missing their homes, and right now, they want nothing more but to go back.

To them, the Familia Facility was a terrifying place. Even though they are fed, they are considered subjects for experiments and have undergone excruciating pain weekly. What's more unbearable was they had to compete in deadly games with other children and win the Torneo.

It was all too much for young children like them to survive. With the experiments getting more painful and traumatizing, they were always one step away from their demise and didn't even know if they would live to see the next day.

Although with their young minds, they still didn't know the gravity of death, they still fear it like any other human does.

Noticing that the mood had changed, OAR48 cleared his throat and forced a smile. "But why is a cat here?" he asked, trying to return the focus to the cat.

"Maybe they're also created to imitate a true abandoned place?" OSZ61 suggested.

"So there must be a dog, right? I want to see one!" OID76 stated with an excited gleam. He reached toward the cat to pet it when it suddenly ran and went inside an opened door.

"Wait, where are you going?" OID76 expressed and followed the cat. The two other children followed, and the three entered the room. They saw a severely broken bed, bedside table, and rubbles inside. They looked around the small space but couldn't find the cat.

"Huh? It's gone. Where did it go?" OID76 mumbled confusedly and looked at the other two.

"Maybe it got mad because you mentioned a dog," OSZ61 suggested, insinuating that it was OID76's fault.

Feeling his patience growing thin because of the bratty little girl, OID76 fired back in a condescending voice. "What a stupid thing to say."

"Are you calling me stupid?!" OSZ61 asked while pointing to herself. She felt offended by his tone, and she unconsciously raised her voice.

"Who else?!" OID76 shouted back.

"How dare you!" OSZ61 stepped toward OID76, ready to fight, when OAR48 went between the two.

"Hey..."

"Don't stop me. This guy deserved a slap from a pretty lady," OSZ61 said, her palm itching to smack OID76 when OAR48's eyes landed on her hands.

"Hey, where did you put the plastic bag?" he asked.

"I left it on the table, and don't change the subject! That idiot called me stupid!"

"He didn't-"

"I did," OID76 cut off, not backing down as he had enough of her brattiness.

"-and we need to get the plastic bag. The thief might still be here," OAR48 said louder, trying to make the two realize their priority was the plastic bag.

"Let's not fight, okay? We still need to find where the thief hid what he stole," OAR48 added and looked at the two pleadingly with his golden yellow eyes. It looked so heavenly and kind that the two got quiet, smitten at the kind little boy's eyes who they now consider as their friend.

The group wouldn't have been formed without him, especially since OSZ61 and OID76 hated each other.

Coincidentally, the three children entered the same building earlier and met each other. OAR48 immediately suggested they create a group, and his gentle and kind aura swept the two, and they agreed.

"Fine!" OSZ61 stated and marched outside the room with a pout.

"I'm sorry," OID76 spoke in a small voice. He was embarrassed that he had let the childish girl get on his nerves. He felt uncool and immature, so he shyly apologized.

"It's fine. It's just you two have opposite personalities. I think you'll get along eventually."

"I don't think that's possible-"

"Kyah! It's gone!"

Hearing the scream, the two frantically ran toward the living room when they found OSZ61 looking dazely at the empty table.

"What happened?" OAR48 asked and looked around. He thought that someone attacked the little girl.

"It's gone... The plastic bag was gone."

OSZ61 looked back at the two. Her sparkling sand-brown eyes were looming with tears threatening to fall any moment. She felt so sad that she was tearing up. She had worked so hard trying to find those black objects. She even touched filthy and dusty things to collect them. Now, it was all gone.

"I... I worked so hard to find those," she cried, covering her face with her hands.

Silence enveloped the room until OID76 stepped toward her and smacked her back, shocking the crying girl. Looking back, she stared at the little boy with frustrated and sad eyes. She was about to exclaim when OID76 spoke.

"Stop crying. We're going to find them later on," OID76 said, which left the little girl speechless. She felt so surprised hearing those words from OID76 that her tears stopped.

"That's right! Let's find where the thief hid it," OAR48 added positively, giving the two a bright smile.

OID76 nodded and stared at OSZ61, who was still wiping her tears. He hesitated a little but decided to share what crossed his mind.

"I just thought about this, but is it possible that the cat stole it?"

"Ah..."

R E H I L I Y A