The bed creaked as I flipped my body over to lay on my stomach. This mattress is too hard. The room is too warm. Each breath I took in burned my nose. Diluted bleach gives me a headache. I much preferred the metallic smell of blood. Kicking my legs, I groaned out loud. Sleep escaped me again tonight. Dragging myself out of bed, the cold floor underneath my bare feet sent a shiver up my body. Teetering back and forth, a yawn escaped my lips. Hugging myself, I said, "Just for a minute."

Exiting my room, the bright hallway lights burned my eyes. I blinked hard with each staggering step. My body felt stiff from laying down for so long without actually resting. Slowly, it caught up with my more awake mind. As my posture became straighter, I smiled to myself. "He'll be there." The thought made me want to laugh.

Rounding a corner, footsteps pounded down the corridor behind me. Oopsie. Guess I should have stayed in my room. They'll come looking for me. "Toto," I whispered, moving a little quicker. Which room was his again? All these hallways looked the same and directions were not my strong suit. I rubbed my bare arms, wishing I had changed out of my pajamas: black and white speckled Capri sweatpants that hung loosely off my waist and a solid gray crop top that was a little bit big on me.

"Hey Katsuko, isn't it almost time for your fight?" Minatsuki said with a pot of flowers in her hands. She's the hummingbird. The hummingbird is mean. We'd only fought once but she hurt me really bad. But she lost. "Are you actually going to take this fight seriously?" She laughed, her whole body shaking. With a crazed look in her eyes, Minatsuki leaned down close to me, our noses almost touching, and said, "When I fight you again, I'm going to love beating the shit out of you. Just thinking about it makes me so we-"

"Katsuko Mori. It's time for Carnival Corpse. Do not resist," One of the four armed guard ordered from behind me. He squeezed his hand tight on the gun in his hand. His breathing was so heavy that the whole wing could hear it. "Do not resist."

They're dangerous.

I'm more dangerous.

Wonder if they would make good paint? Fresh paint.

Minatsuki patted me on the back. "Good luck out there. I hope you don't die but I'd be lying if I said I wanted you to win. A penalty round might kick your lazy ass in hear." She gave me a lopsided grin and smacked my ass.

Two guards each grabbed one of my arms. The path we took was one I hadn't taken in quite some time. Some of the other Deadman came out of their rooms to watch me be escorted. It had been a long time since I'd fought anyone. The guards unlocked the holding room. "You have five minutes." Two guards stood by the door, to make sure when the time came, I got in the cage.

I yawned loud, covering my mouth with one hand. I didn't find Toto in time. Oh well. Pouring a glass of water, another yawn took over. The liquid slid down my dry throat, giving a little relief to my current state. So sleepy. There's not a place to lie down, except on the floor. It appealed to me as my eyelids grew heavier. "Just a short nap," I mumbled, starting to sink to my knees.

A loud buzzer went off, making me cover my ears. It's soloud. It's making my head pound even more. "Get in the cage," The guard said, weapon aimed at me. When I didn't move, he landed a hard kick to my torso, knocking me through the open door of the cage.

"Ouch," I muttered, rolling onto my back. The metal felt cold but I closed my eyes. The chain clinked, cracking the cage up into a very brightly lit arena. Voices laughed and made bets. I found it hard to sleep. Annoying.

The speaker cracked before the event announcer's voice broke through the room. "It's time for Carnival Corpse! Where two of your favorite Deadman will go head to head in a grueling match! Today's match is between the man known for always killing his opponents, The Raven, and his opponent," The speaker stopped to laugh. "The ever so aloof, Swan! Begin!"

The floor dropped out, sending me crashing to the floor below. Groaning, I turned onto my stomach, laying my head on my arms. My eyes slid closed again. This is too much work. All I wanted was to see Toto and sleep in his comfy bed. Nothing else appealed to me, especially not these battles. No one entertained me like my favorite opponent but Tamaki wouldn't pit us together ever again. We'd almost torn apart half the facility.

"Get up, you lazy bitch!" Raven yelled, stomping his foot down onto my back. The hot lights already had him sweating. It soaked through my top and rolled down the dip in my lower back. "I finally get to fight the second-best Deadman in this shithole and all I get is you?"

"it seems like Swan isn't into this fight, either. Raven could end this very quickly," the announcer laughed again.

Raven slid his hands under my armpits and lifted me up onto my feet. He grunted and let go. "Fight me, Swan!"

Another big yawn overtook me. "I don't want to. I'm sooo tired." Rubbing my eyes, I sighed.

"What? I'm not worth your time since you're so strong? Is that it?" Raven shouted, cutting his palm on his sharp earring. His blood solidified into a whip. "Fuck you, you stuck up bitch!" He flicked the whip, striking my cheek.

"I never said any of that. All I want is a nap. You can have the cash points," I said, touching the bleeding slice on my cheek. It stung. He's wasting my blood. Toto isn't even here to taste it. I walked over to the wall and leaned my head against the cool glass. "This is all so tiresome."

"Fight me!" Raven shouted, striking his whip across my back, popping few of my stitches. He flicked it again, wrapping it around my neck. "Gotcha!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Will this be the first time that the Swan has been defeated? It seems she is refusing to fight back." The announcer said.

As he pulled me back towards him, my hands went straight to my neck. I couldn't breathe. Why is he trying so hard? Why drag this out? If I lose, I can take my nap quicker. That notion appealed to me. Hmm… I let go, allowing him to drag me closer. My head tilted back to look up. Wait…

Raven screamed, "I am not allowing you to opt out of this fight! Show me your powers! Fucking fight!"

Jerking forward, I hunched my body down and inward quickly. Every stitch on my back popped open, blood oozing from the two slits. From the wounds, my blood swirled and formed into my blood winds. The wingspan didn't need to above five feet to carry my 110-pound body up. The spider-web like wings flapped back, breaking Raven's whip in their recoil. Slowly, my bare feet left the ground, and I flew up to big bird speaker, settling on top. I used my wings as a blanket. "Just a small nap."

"Damn you, stupid bitch! Get the fuck down here!" Raven shouted. His yelling wasn't so bothersome up here and his whip length wasn't long enough to reach me. Even the announcers voice didn't bother me anymore. Finally, sleep! My eyes slid closed.

"Katsuko! Katsuko, come play with me!" The little boy's voice broke my concentration as I was drawing in my bedroom. His big blue eyes shimmered with the hope that I'd come play with him. Both knees were scrapped up from falling out of the tree this morning. But none of it stopped him from bothering me again.

"I'm drawing, Milo. Leave me alone." I stuck my tongue out him. He was six years old and already a little piece of shit whenever our parents weren't around. At 14, I didn't care to play with him anymore.

He furrowed his brows and threw the nearest object at me, which happened to be a jar of paint. It shattered on the floor, staining my carpet. Without any remorse, he shouted, "I hate you! You're such a… a… bitch! That's what dad calls you! I'll go play by myself!" He stormed out of my room.

That day, the incident occurred, killing our parents on their way home from work, leaving the two of us orphans. My brother and I were sent to live with our grandmother, who didn't care for either of us, but doted on Milo because he sucked up to her. And she hated me because I was "moody" and "troublesome". I hated her. I hated Milo.

Half-asleep, I felt a tug on my ankle. Frowning, already in a foul mood from my dream, I lifted my head to see what it was. Red. Is that Raven's branch of sin? Seems he's learned to draw out more of his blood. My winds had disappeared but left behind a bloody mess, all over my back and sides, dripping down the speaker and onto the floor far below. "Hey, let go of—" My whole body slid in the wet blood, right toward the edge.

"Get down here!" Raven shouted. The floor bore the marks of all his attempts to reach me before this successful one. With both hands on the whip, he jerked with all his might, sending me crashing to the floor. A loud crash rang out, and the floor cracked under my body. Raven didn't wait. He rushed me, kicking his boot into my side, cracking a rib. "Get up!"

"Noooo, I don't want to," I whined, covering my head with my hands. I felt all achy from the fall. At least I'd gotten a little sleep. "I give up, you win." He had begun to irritate me, only a little. But not enough to fight him.

"No! You're gonna fight me," Raven shouted, bringing down his whip on my legs, over and over, ripping my sweatpants. "After I beat you, I'm going to fight Mockingbird again, and I'm going to kill him. Then, I'll rule this shit wonderland!"

My whole body went rigid. It took Raven off guard. "Finally! You're getting up," He said, sighing, as I pushed myself off the ground.

Every muscle in my body ached. I couldn't straighten up, and my head hung down. My eyes glued to the floor, his words went through my head again. "Kill Mockingbird? MyMockingbird?" I muttered angrily to myself.

"Huh? Did you say something?" Raven asked.

As I lifted my head, meeting his gaze, Raven froze, fear filling his features. "What did you say?" I asked. My pale blue eyes stretched wide and I clenched my fists. 1. 2. 3. 4. I counted each step he took to get away from me. Not enough. He'd never be far enough away. Silver strands of my long hair fell over my face as I titled my head to the side. "Did you just threaten MY Mockingbird?"