Zero — The Rain of the End and the Flower of the Beginning
The story starts out with Zero stating her dislike for rainy days because they’re always the worst days. As she sat there and thought about it, she began to laugh mindlessly, asking herself, “So, sunny days aren’t the worst either?”
Then, in the midst of the sound of rain, a voice called out to her. “What’s… wrong? You’re crying,” the voice said, to which Zero responded by telling the blind girl that she was fine, and was merely laughing. It is said that this girl had lost her vision due to being struck in the eyes with a needle, and her palms and feet were burnt countless times by a hot iron during torture from the feudal lord. Her loss was perhaps a result of an attempt of revolt on the part of her friends against the lord.
Zero felt it was foolish. Not just the idea of a revolt, but how they were caught before they could even gather their weapons. This happened due to an information leak from one of their so-called friends. According to Zero, there are no humans that won’t betray you.
Unlike the others, however, Zero was not tortured. This was because she didn’t have a single friend to put together such an outrageous plan in the first place. Instead of having her bones broken or fingernails torn out, she was merely struck by a whip.
She no longer felt the burning pain on her back from all the whipping. She no longer had any senses and could no longer feel the coldness of the rain hitting her back. It was a strange feeling of knowing that she was going to die soon, as she said to herself, “What a lousy life…” and burst into laughter. There wasn’t something she would consider a ‘best day,’ as each day was worse, whether it was rainy or sunny. Her entire life was a ‘worst day’ from the start. Zero then explains that her oldest memory is the voice of her mother shouting and the countless beatings that followed. She never ate until her stomach was full, so she had to learn how to steal food before she could even learn to speak properly.
Although Zero was brought up in such a manner, she didn’t blame her mother or consider her a bad woman. This is because the only children with warm meals and beds were the lucky ones from noble families. Otherwise, children born to other families were nothing but a nuisance. Zero believes that her mother raised her the same way she was raised before her.
When Zero became of age, her mother began to sell her, as a way to ‘comfort’ men. Going to brothels was a common occurrence for her, where there were many others similar to her mother, along with other young girls that were close to Zero’s age. Of all the young girls, there was one in particular that became good friends with Zero. This young girl called Zero by the name of ‘Light Pink’ because of her eye color. That is how Zero learned about the color of her eyes, as she had never even looked at herself in a mirror, nor had she ever been curious to know what she looked like.
Zero called her new friend ‘Bluish-Purple’ for the same reason. These were the names they gave each other.
One day, Bluish-Purple said, “Let’s steal some money and run away,” which Zero agreed to, as she felt she could do anything with her new friend. After taking the money and making a run from the town, they crossed a bridge where a man was waiting with a horse. This familiar man was a customer who was infatuated with Bluish-Purple.
“Don’t take it the wrong way, Light Pink,” Bluish-Purple said with her usual smile. Then, the two made a run for it, while Zero was arrested. Despite this, she didn’t hold a grudge against Bluish-Purple, but against herself for being naive enough to trust another person. It was at this point, that Zero had decided she would do better at her next opportunity, which was just a few months away.
When the decisive day finally arrived, Zero managed to take the money and run, much more easily than Bluish-Purple had managed.
In order to keep herself safe from pursuers, she decided to kill the people at the brothel, which was easier than she had expected. Next, in order to prevent any further pursuers, she went on a murderous rampage and eliminated all of the hired soldiers that were half asleep and drunk at the bar. She managed to gather as much money she could hold, and left town before sunrise.
Things didn’t go according to plan, however, as Zero was immediately captured shortly after leaving town. This time, it was by a group of bandits. They took all of her money and were about to sell her off, but she managed to find a way to escape. By now, Zero had decided that it would be better for her to not have any money, as she would no longer have anything worth losing. From this point on, she had also decided that she’d no longer rely on a man or anyone else to protect her—it would only lead to betrayal. She had decided that she would protect herself with her very own hands and trust no one but herself.
“I don’t have a name. I don’t have anything. Without money, I have no house. Not a single family member or lover, nothing. It’s almost amazing. I only have this life, but soon I will no longer have that, either.” She was the remaining zero. This was the start of Zero’s sorrowful journey.