And hour after that, Conan's body felt heavy. His breath felt hot like he was catching a fever.

He was now in the dump site together with some kids but he felt the urgency to go home and just lay on his bed. 

He couldn't take anymore the feeling and just decided to rest for the whole day. He can't understand what he was feeling. His body was extremely burning but his head was fine. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He doesn't have a fever yet his body was on fire.  

Conan groaned when a blistering heat strike his lower belly. It was annoyingly uncomfortable but there's a faint tingling sensation on it.

Maybe he was having a different kind of diarrhea? Maybe milk doesn't sit well to his stomach?

Conan curled into sleep for hours. He fluttered his eyes open when he heard a knock on the door. He checked the time. It's already getting dark. He was feeling better now and his body felt energized.

"Coming!"

He strode to the door and opened it. Lisa, one of Mrs. Jones daughter was standing in front of him, holding a tupperware.

"Mom cook early for dinner. This is for you."

Conan took the tupperware and stared at her in daze. Lisa crossed her arms and sneered at him.

"She is always worried about you. You're not her child but it feels like she loves you more than me. I'm getting jealous!"

Conan gulped. He couldn't take his eyes off the girl. Lisa was somehow.... cute. This was the first time that he took notice of her beauty. Her big brown eyes and pouty lips were her best assets.

Something tickled inside him.

"What?" she snapped him out of his reverie.

Conan furrowed his eyebrows. He felt weird. He doesn't have any interest in opposite sex, yet, but what the heck was happening right now? Does adolescence starting to grow inside him? It's irrelevant for him as he don't have time for silly things but he finds Lisa cute today.

"Hmp! Weirdo!"

She turned her back to him and Conan couldn't help but to follow her every movements.

"Conan! I can smell a good food there. Can I have some?"

He cleared his throat. "O-Oh. Sure."

Days had passed and he observed that his body instantly reacts whenever he saw a girl. Like his whole being was getting excited for some unknown reason.

It was irritating at first but as time went by, he grew immune to it.

"I like obedient people like you." The collector smacked the back of his head. "You're always consistent to pay unlike the others. You love your dear life, eh?"

Conan now seventeen years old glared at the face that he despise to see the most. Alejandro, the money collector.

"How much more do I have to pay? I've been consistent the past years. I'm hoping that you can at least cut it in half—"

"I'm in a good mood right now. Don't try to ruin it." Alejandro put the money inside his bag and gave him a disapproving look. "If I'm not mistaken, you still have two million dollars to pay."

"What? That's not what you've said before! I know that you're just tricking me!" Conan couldn't helped but to raise his voice. They were playing him dirty! Even though he doesn't went to school, he was smart especially with numbers!

Alejandro's face darkened and grabbed his shirt. "Are you saying that I'm a lier? It's just not money that your father has debt to us! And if I'm being honest here, even if you work until you die, that's still not enough time to settle everything!"

He gritted his teeth in anger. His fist were itching to punch his face but he suppressed his emotions. 

Because even though he was now seventeen, his body didn't even change that much and that's frustrating him too much! But what can he do? Instead for buying a food, he just saves it to give to this mother fucker.

He lacks sleeps and vitamins. He was stressed. How can he supposed to grow the way he like if fate isn't on his side?

Alejandro pushed him to the ground. "Just be thankful that we've removed your collar. If it was still in you, I'd be pissed and just blew your neck off."

Being their loyal payer, he earned their trust to the extent that they freed him from their oppressive collar. He personally saw someone died when their collar exploded because they were trying to hide or they kept skipping to give their monthly payment.

He wanted to say more but he chose not to argue further. His collar had taken off last year and he can't be more grateful for that. He was like freed from prison but his responsibilities just kept on biting his ass. He was thinking lately on how he can escape this yakuza's who were tormenting him.

He doesn't want to spend his whole life for paying the debt of his irresponsible father. He wants to end it so that he can move freely.

Alejandro fished out a box of cigarette in his bag. He lit one and stared at Conan. "Say, how old are you now?"

"Seventeen."

He cocked an eyebrow. "No shit. You haven't even grow!"

Conan clenched his jaw when he heard the mockery in his voice. If he must be bigger, Alejandro's nose might be bleeding by now.

"You don't need to state the obvious," he scoffed and stood up. "If you'll excuse me."

Alejandro pondered as he puffed on his cigarette. "Do you want to work under us?"

Conan stopped on his track.

"This is a good opportunity for you. If you can serve us like a loyal dog, then you'll experience all the good things that the City can offer. You can leave from one of our apartments and you can finally say goodbye to this rotten place."

"No thanks," he said without any hesitation. "I'd rather rot here than to become one of your dogs. Thanks for the offer though."

He knows that there'll be no turning back once he's in. Conan knew how organization's like them work. There's no such word as friendship nor partners. Betraying one another are common in their world and that was surely what happened to his father. He don't want to end up being killed.

"Wow. You declined my offer. You're missing this big chance, you know."

He was probably pertaining the chance to see his sister. Within the past years, he didn't get to ask about Emma even if he was itching to get some information. He made sure to let them know that he doesn't care about her anymore. He was afraid that they might use it against him to their advantage.

Chances are fifty-fifty that she's still alive and he was holding into the other fifty percent.

As for now, he was praying for her safety while he will paved his own way to them.