A/N: Another drabble since I can't seem to focus on anything long. Consider this character practice.
It feels strange, being out in the open especially when you don't have to worry about being hunted down like an animal. I can't remember a time I ever felt this way since that's all that has happened to me. Maybe when I was a baby, but no one stays innocent for long. No one thought twice of marking a child, painfully I might add, who was only trying to survive.
So sitting out here underneath the night sky with miles and miles of grassy plains stretching from me felt bizarre and alien. Maybe that's because I was alien to this land; it had been here for years now. Grass and dirt covered my bareback as I lay down to stare up at the night sky. Again, it felt foreign.
You could never see the stars so clearly back home in Satellite. You couldn't even breathe right, always coughing and hacking from the poison filled air. I could say the same for Neo Domino City cause it was so bright and the air was filled with car fuel.
Obviously I left both places if I'm here. Neither had anything to offer me; Satellite contained only bitter memories while Neo Domino City had me feel only as an outsider. Honestly, I thought I wanted to be part of that grand city life. To get away from the slums I was born into, but it wasn't me. I wanted more.
I wanted freedom.
To be able to stretch my arms out and have nothing but air touching my fingertips. To take in a deep breath that filled my lungs before releasing it, and not feeling as if I'm dying. I wanted to be part of a world that had grass, trees, animals scattered through it. For my whole life I lived among the rubble of a failed city; both destroyed and new. It always felt so…cold. I wanted warmth.
I needed freedom.
So I left. Without a word I slipped out from the covers while my friends slept in that cheap hotel we found. It may seem cruel, but I had to. It would have been harder on us all if I had given them a goodbye. I wasn't in the rebuilt city for long, maybe a few months. Even still, I needed to leave.
Moving beyond the city, my travels led me to Mount Yari which lies in the southern part of the Hida Mountains which are Japan's equivalent of Alps. There's a city near this mountain called Ōmachi which is located in Nagano.
It was hard getting there, but I actually enjoyed it. I took small jobs to acquire money, learned a few skills like learning a map, and socialized with different people. It was different, something new to learn every day, and it was rewarding.
I had taken up shelter with an elderly couple who took pity on me since I had no home. Even though they felt pity for me, that necessarily meant they treated me like a house guest, which I'm grateful for; I did what they asked and they repaid me with a home. A pretty good trade off if I do say so myself. I couldn't help but feel proud when they treated my voice and presence with importance. My friends had listened, but my age kept my voice from reaching out.
Speaking of my age, two years had passed since I left. From time to time I heard what Yuusei was up to while knowing our other friends would find their own path. I had grown a foot taller, my muscles more toned from all the hard labor, and I had cut my long hair short for a change as well as it helping with my chores. I also wore pants instead of a long tunic, again it helps.
And it was after working a hard long day that I decided to spend it lying under the stars. I stated before that it felt strange, and it still does. Sometimes I'm afraid that my new life will be snatched from me despite being told I can stay as long as I like. It gives me reassurance and hope.
One day I may visit those two cities, reconnect with my friends. Catch up, but for now I'm content. Everyone seems to be since no one had come looking for me. Although I can't help but feel they're giving me a chance to have a life of my own. I like to think that's the case.
I like this rural setting, it's quite lovely and peaceful.
A/N:Yep, it is Rally. He's older; trying to develop his character while explaining why he disappeared. He may have appeared random times, but how could he get into the dueling dome and his friends get a truck. Maybe they got money, but it wouldn't come that easily. Especially with people being still weary of their marks. So there ya go.