Ritsu had never liked winter, but he hated when it began to end. Spring brought with it the intense rain of pollen, harsh weather swings from blustery cold to lukewarm and back again, and a spike in the fights between rebel groups over who controlled the city. Over the last four years, resources had gotten so scarce during the winters that every faction, the old government included, made a de facto ceasefire, giving the people a merciful respite from the war. Then, once the streets thawed out, they all took to the rubble like flies to honey and started slaughtering each other all over again. For the most part there was an unspoken agreement to stay within the uninhabited part of town, but every street bore scars from one incident or another. Unfortunately for Ritsu, almost every route from Salt Elementary to his house was damaged to the point of being unwalkable save the longest, hilliest, most indirect path.

On days like this, he could almost enjoy the walk. A layer of snow two feet deep blanketed everything, erasing the cracked pavement and broken sidewalks into oblivion. A few rusty fence posts lined one side of the road, black against the white ground and gray sky. If he squinted, he could almost pretend they were trees. The sense of normalcy was a sight for sore eyes, especially given that one of them was close to swelling shut. He paused to crouch down and scooped up a bit of snow to press on his face.

Man, he thought, wincing from the cold against his bruised face, Those idiots sure did a number on me.

He hadn't meant to get in another fight today, not really. Recently he'd found that fighting the other bullies at school had lost a bit of its charm. Some of the other kids at school had offered to spar with him, but the one or two scuffles at recess only resulted in a kid being sent home early and another to the nurse's office with a black eye while he got lectured. He felt even worse after that than before.

When Ritsu started back on his way home, he finally got a chance to test out a theory he'd had since that afternoon. His two favorite targets, the Shiratori brothers, were huddled together at the nearby bus stop waiting for a warm, safe ride back to their shitty orphanage home. He snuck up on them, double checking to ensure neither brother notice his presence, before sliding onto the bench and clearing his throat.

Kaito, the square-headed one immediately jumped behind the rounder one and shrieked. Ritsu felt a smirk tug at his lips.

"Hello," he greeted flatly. "Mind if I borrow some fare money?"

"We don't have any," Daichi, the round-faced brother, hissed, backing away. "Leave us alone...please."

Ritsu stood up then, taking two short strides until he was looming above the cowering brats. He couldn't repress a smile as he looked down and said, "No thank you."

They both sprinted away. He gave chase, his smile growing wider and wider with every step. His theory was right; this was what he'd been missing. When the two attempted to split up and escape into a snowy vacant lot he decided to go after the older brother–the younger one would just hide. A few bounds into a large snowdrift he caught up with his victim and pounced.

Daichi screeched as Ritsu tackled him from behind, throwing snow everywhere as they slammed into the ground. Ritsu flipped him over and started hit him until he felt the boy's glasses crack under his fist. His sadistic grin grew wider.

"Stop–" his victim squealed between punches. He tried to push him away so Ritsu grabbed him by the collar.

"Why should I?!" Ritsu barked. "When you-"

A knee slammed into the side of his head, toppling him sideways. He cursed as he stumbled up, trying to get his bearings, only to get knocked over again. The world briefly spun as he fell, and he was unable to defend himself from the series of punches and kicks that followed. After a few dizzying seconds he finally pushed his attacker off and stumbled back, covering an arm over his face defensively. In front of him stood Kaito, now in a pathetic-looking battle stance.

"Stop it!" the brat cried. "Leave Big Brother Daichi alone!"

Well, Ritsu didn't expect that. He glanced over to his left to note that the other twin was still down, barely visible in the snow. He turned his gaze back to the other boy and pushed himself up into a crouch.

"You…" he hissed, jumping forward. "Motherfucker!"

His fist slammed into Kaito's jaw with all his weight behind it, knocking him over like a bowling pin. As the kid fell he grabbed his arm and wrenched it hard, eliciting a cry of pain.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?!" Ritsu pulled the boy forward, his fist slamming into the boy's nose, which started to bleed. He cried out louder and Ritsu kneed him in the chest. "Trying to hit me–" he stomped him down, not letting go of the arm, "–you pathetic–" he tugged up, keeping a foot on his chest,. "–piece of SHIT!" Two loud pops echoed as Kaito's elbow and shoulder dislocated, and he screamed in agony. Ritsu let the arm drop and kicked him in the ribs a few times for good measure, not paying attention to the boy's sobs. Then he spat on him and spun around on his heel.

"Don't you ever try to hit me again, you weaklings." he whispered, before stomping away.

By the time Ritsu had finished limping through memory lane, his house was in sight. He straightened up, wiped off the moisture from any melted snow on his face-it had gotten the swelling down nicely-and marched up to the door.

"I'm home," he called out. No one answered.

"I'm home," he called again, more impatiently. He wanted to get inside and sleep off the rest of his injuries. "C'mon already…"

"Ritsu Kageyama!" his mother's voice shrieked as the door swung abruptly open, startling him. "Get here this instant! I have some choice words for you! Just what on earth did you do at school?!"

Ritsu groaned. "I got into a fight, Mom," he sighed, walking inside. He didn't bother making eye contact, which seemed to anger her even further.

"A fight-a fight! Again! And not just any fight, you sent a poor boy to the hospital!"

"He started it," he interjected.

"It doesn't matter who started it!" She shouted back, slamming the door. "Do you know how many times you've almost gotten expelled?! I swear, your father and I lost almost everything in this godforsaken war except you…"

Oh boy, he thought, rolling his eyes. Here she goes again. He tuned her out immediately. As he continued walking, however, she caught him by surprise and grabbed his shoulder, spinning him back.

"Listen to me when I'm ta—"

"Don't touch me!"

He felt the impact of his fist before he registered moving. His mother stumbled back and they stared at each other for a second, eyes wide with shock. Then her nose started to bleed.

"Oh…" she gasped, clutching her nose. "Oh, god...Ritsu…"

She reached out and he bolted upstairs. She kept calling to him, her voice mixed with sobs, and he could hear his father asking what was wrong. He locked his door and shoved a bookshelf in front of it, then collapsed. Downstairs, the shouting was getting louder. They were coming for him. Ritsu covered his ears.

"Ritsu, please, don't do this…"

"How dare you hurt your mother! Get out and face your problems like a man!"

He curled in on himself tighter now. Stop, he pleaded in his mind. Make it stop.

They didn't stop. For another half an hour the two kept banging on the door, his father demanding and his mother pleading for him to come out. Eventually they both exhausted themselves and left. Ritsu stayed in the fetal position in the middle of his dark, cold, empty room.

"I'm strong…" he whispered to himself through clenched teeth. "I'm strong, I'm strong, I'm strong I'm strong I'm strong I'm strong I'm strong I'm—"

His voice cracked, and he let out a few sputtering gasps. His eyes burned and he squeezed them shut until he could see spots in his vision. No matter what, he would not cry.

After a long time, Ritsu's body relaxed enough that he could move. As he sat up and finally shrugged off his jacket, he heard Mom sobbing downstairs again. He couldn't catch everything, but he made out "Ritsu" and "how could he do this" and "horrible." Dad's voice was low and comforting, no doubt telling her it wasn't her fault. Idiots. How could it not be their fault? He chose to be strong, and they kept being so weak, just like his B-

Stop. he bit his chapped lips until he tasted blood. There was enough on his plate right now without worrying about That. As he slowly rose to get his futon, he glanced out the window at the skyline, not missing the hard line on the horizon made by The Wall. He could just barely make out the silhouette of Salt Middle School against the darkening sky.

I'm 'horrible', huh? Ritsu thought, a tiny smile on his swollen face. I can work with that…

The building in the distance was only two short months away. There, he could show the world what a horrible person he really was.