Hey guys! This is my first fanfic, so please, please keep that in mind as you read. Hope you guys like it! Reviews are appreciated.

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"Full of despair inside a darkness/self conscious and scared, held prisoner of war" -Sunrise, Our Last Night

Prolouge

Takumi POV

Life is hard sometimes. There are some days where I just don't want to get out of bed, no matter what. But even then, I still ended up getting up - because I had a job to do.

I got up at dawn - like I usually do. I rolled off the pallet of blankets that was on the ground onto the cold, hard, old wooden floor. I stretched, letting out a quiet yawn, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I got to my feet, and then padded quietly to the twin's room. They were snuggled together under the old, faded quilt, on the only bed in the house. I smiled softly, and then made my way to the kitchen.

I looked in the old cracked cabinets for something for us to eat. I found exactly one old loaf of bread and some cheese left over from the night before. I made a small fire in our make-shift fireplace using as little wood as I possibly could manage. I wouldn't be able to gather more until after work late tonight. Once the fire was lit, I took an old pan and set it on top of a makeshift oven rack made of wood that was hard to burn. I sliced the bread and placed cheese on them, then set those on top of the pan for them to toast.

"Takumi?" I heard a sleepy voice ask from behind. I turned to see Alex and Clover standing in the doorway, Clover rubbing her eyes and Alex letting out a big, noisy yawn. I smiled. "Good morning guys!" I said cheerfully. "Are you hungry? I've got toasted bread and cheese here." I turned to check on the bread, finding it finished. I picked them up with my fingertips and quickly transferred them to the table. The kids sat at the table and slowly ate their bread. I turned to the sink, grabbing the pan along the way. As I washed it, I looked out the window, looking out at the vast field, with the woods at the edge of it.

"Do you have to go to work today?" Alex asked softly. I turned to look at him, smiling sadly. "Yes, but I promise that tomorrow we will spend time together."

Clover squealed with joy, shoving the rest of her bread into her mouth. "Yeah! Together all day tomorrow!" I smiled again.

"You're going to choke if you keep screaming with food in your mouth." Alex said, putting the last piece of his bread into his mouth, chewing slowly.

I glanced at the wooden clock on the windowsill. "I'm heading out!" I said, heading to the hook on the wall that held my messenger bag. The twins waited until I had slung the bag over my shoulder to tackle me with a hug. "Have a good day!" They exclaimed. "Yep!" I said, placing a kiss on both of their heads. See you later!" I called as I walked out of the door.

As I make my way to work, I stop to read the front page of the day's newspaper. That boy was on the front page again. His name was Monkey D. Luffy, the Captain of the Strawhats. His bounty had been raised again. I frowned and looked away, continuing on my journey. Then I reached my favorite part of my walk - the walk through the market. I loved to look at all the merchandise the vendors were selling.
"Good morning, Takumi!" I heard a familiar voice call, and I turned to see Michaelus waving at me. Michaelus's booth was my favorite of them all. He sold glass work of all kind - everything from vases to little charms that you could sting up like a necklace. It always seemed like his blonde hair was matted with dirt and sweat, but his blue eyes were as clear and bright as ever.
"Good morning!" I called back to him. "Wait, I have something for you and the kids." Michaelus said, holding out his hands. He had three small charms. One orange and red, one pink and purple, and the last one was blue and green. They were formed into small sun-shaped charms, a leather string threaded the small hole in the pendant.

"Oh, they're beautiful Michaelus! Thank you!" I said, tears coming to my eyes. "And they're our favorite colors. How did you know?"
"Clover told me when she came into town the other day." He answered. "I wanted you to have something nice for your birthday." I looked up and smiled at him. "I appreciate the thought. Tell Millie I said hello!" I said. Millie was Michaelus's wife. She stays at home with their four children, and from time to time, I come over to help with the children to give the couple a break, and it gives me an opportunity to let the twins play with some other children their age.

I told Michaelus goodbye, and then continued on my way to work. At the halfway point, I met up with another worker named Takao. He was a sweet boy with black hair and dark eyes, he was tall for a sixteen year old, taller than me at least, even though we are the same age. He was dressed in his usual work clothes - a grey tank top with black pants, and his brown leather boots and gloves. I dressed similarly, but I also had a black bandanna tied around my head to keep my long, light blue hair out of my face. Ever since we were twelve, we've been working together in the gold mine, which is what the country we live in, White Peak, famous for. You would think that a country that mined gold wouldn't have any poor people, right? Wrong. In fact, there are more poor than rich people in this country, basically being used as labor workers to gain what little money they could.

"How is your mother doing?" I asked Takao. His mother, Haruka, was a sickly woman, and has been bedridden for three years now. After his father died, Takao had to start working to pay for his mother's medical bills. He smiled. "She's been getting better these past few days. She may even be able to get out of bed for a few hours soon."
"That's wonderful! Maybe we could visit her soon and bring her some of those flowers she likes - the bluebonnets."
"Mother would like that. She always enjoys your visits." He said.

We continued to make small talk as we grew closer to the mines, and as we came closer, I could see the guards loading the workers into vans that were parked out by the entrance of the mines. One of the guards saw Takao and I as we walked toward the vans, and he started walking to meet us. I recognized him. His name was Taiga.

"What's going on?" I asked him.
"We're moving you to a new location. This current location has been declared unsafe." He said, scratching the back of his head. "Don't know why they did. All of the locations are technically unsafe." He mumbled. I smiled. "It doesn't matter to me as long as I get paid." I said.

"You there!" A guard by the van called. "We're going. Get in!" We said our goodbye to Taiga, then ran to catch the van.