My life wasn't ever really able to be described as "good." I was abandoned shortly after birth because I was an imeko, a male child of a fire demon born to an ice maiden. I was the result of a broken rule and was done away with to save the village. It was probably the right decision on their part. My fire would have melted away their defences. I was dropped from the sky island where I was born and found by a gang of bandits where I spent the next five years getting bigger, getting stronger, and allowing myself to be consumed by the flames of hatred.
On the day I was captured, I was having what could easily have been the second worse day of my young life. Second because it's hard to top being flung off a cliff when you're mere hours old. That morning, I had been entrusted to assist on a job where we would be stealing some old, rather valuable artifacts. Things immediately went for the worse. Booby traps were set up for any intruders. One of the other bandits had gotten trapped and I had went back to save him, a decision that cost us the entire job. The sad thing was that I couldn't even save him; but because of my mistake, I was punished severely. After sustaining a broken wrist, I lashed out and killed one of our men. That was the final straw for them so I did the only one thing I could do to avoid their wrath. I ran. I was so angry. All I did to do what help someone whom I considered family. Why was that bad? Wasn't that the right thing?
I ran and ran until I got myself lost, a rare occurrence for me.
I was snatched up by black market thugs and ended up at a slave market. The first thing they did was tore my clothes off and dunked me into a tub of water. I wanted to scream. Going under like that reminded me of when the Ice Maidens dropped me off the cliff into the river. I wanted to scream but the sound got hung in my throat.
After dunking me under a total of four times, they apparently decided that I was clean enough to be put into a small cage. I was a small kid but this cage was so small that I couldn't even stand up. I felt tears well up in my eyes but I quickly wiped them away. If those bastards learned that I can make tear gems like the females of my mother's race, I would be tortured. My tears are likely the only ones in the world from a male ice child and would be highly valuable. I couldn't let anyone find out.
On day six of my imprisonment, we stopped a market and several of the captured demons, myself included, were put out to sold. It was possibly the most humiliating thing that had ever happened to me. I was completely naked in a tiny cage like an animal, being mocked and stared at. After about two hours, I curled in a ball in the corner of my prison and fell asleep.
"Look alive, kiddo!" A man yelled at me as he kicked my cage hard.
I sat up, rubbing my eyes sleepily.
"What?"
"Some more people are coming and no one could even see your tiny ass hiding over there." He said, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. Gross.
"I know. That's what I was hoping for." I mumbled.
"Well, how is anyone going to buy you if they can't see you?"
"I thought you said no one would buy a useless creature like me?" I snapped.
"I'm sure *someone* would buy you. Probably some creep who likes 'em young and little." He chuckled, walking away.
I cringed at the thought. Pedophilia wasn't exactly unheard of in Makai. It was likely that I could be sold to some weirdo who would use me for God knows what.
Several people came and went without me paying attention to any of them. Most of them were male bandits, that was just the type who enjoyed things like this. A few were men with their female slaves. I ignored them too. More so actually considering that was basically a glimpse of my unavoidable future.
Suddenly, a pale, skinny hand wrapped around a bar of my cage. I looked up to see a pair of pink lips curling into a smile.
"Look at this one, Kyoko. Isn't he pretty? Those eyes of his are so beautiful." The woman said in a dark but slightly comforting feminine voice.
"I'm not a object. I can hear you know." I hissed.
"He's too chatty. Can we go now?" Kyoko sighed.
"Be quiet for a minute. Better yet, go look at necklaces or something." The redheaded girl said, waving her friend away.
"Fine. I'll be waiting for you over there with the jewels." Kyoko said, running a hand idly through her short blue hair.
"Now then, what's your name, child?" The woman asked.
I merely scoffed. I wasn't about to make small talk with some arrogant female.
"I'm Aiko." She said.
"Hn."
"I bet you haven't eaten in days." She said.
I looked away as my stomach betrayed me and growled loudly. Stupid thing gets excited about the mere mention of food.
She smiled a little and stood up. I watched her walk off into a crowd of people. I admit curiosity was getting the better of me at this point.
It didn't take long for her to return with some bread. She slipped it through the bars to me but I didn't reach for it.
"I didn't have time to poison it." She said, rolling her eyes.
"But look, I'll prove it's clean."
She broke off a piece and ate it. She didn't vomit or die so she had to be telling the truth. I started devouring it. I didn't care if I looked like a baby or a savage. I was starving. She watched me with some weird look of content on her face until a large, dirty hand knotted itself in her hair and yanked her up to her feet. I stopped and watched as she grit her teeth from the pain.
"We don't allow the slaves to be fed until they're paid for, bitch." The slave owner hissed as he kicked dirt on my food.
"Hey! Let go of me, you creep! Yoko!" She yelled.
"Calling for help, are we? That's just pitiful."
"Let go of her immediately." A booming voice commanded.
I couldn't believe it. That little redheaded girl actually knew Yoko Kurama? I hated to admit this but I had been completely enthralled by him since I was a toddler. I could listen to stories about him for hours. I never thought I'd see him in person.
"Yoko! This brat is with you?" The slave owner asked.
"I said to let her go." He repeated darkly.
The fat man let go of Aiko's hair and backed away.
"Sir, I'm so sorry. I had no idea that -."
"Oh, shut up, you damned fool." He hissed, noticing the girl returning to my cage. "What's got you so vexed?"
"This child. Isn't he gorgeous? Look at his eyes. They look just like Tenzun's used to." She said, softly.
"Oh, yes, I see. You there, pig." Yoko said, snapping his fingers at the slave owner. "How much is this one?"
"Sir, I have much better ones. This is one stubborn and foolish."
"I don't believe that I stammered. I asked about a price for this boy here." Yoko growled.
"R-right. Name your price and he's yours."
"18,000?"
"That much for that little monster? If you want him that bad, then sure. I won't argue with you, sir!"
He unlocked the cage and drug me out by my leg. I was in shock. Yoko, my childhood hero, just bought me.