The Freedom of a Bird and the Spirit in a Wolf
A/N: Natsuko/Natalie: Hiya! I'm Natalie, or in the fic I'm Natsuko ^_^
Ayame /Iris: And I'm Iris, also know as Ayame in the fic, and the most beautiful person in the world! ;)
Natalie: Well, I'm not sure which planet she's referring too...
Iris: Hey!
Natalie: *innocent grin*
Iris: *hits Natalie ~*~lightly~*~ over the head*
Natalie: -_-;; *rubs head* Ok! Well anyway! As we were saying.... *nervous glance at Iris*
Iris: *big grin* Natalie would like to wish you well, before she tries to take over your plane-*Natalie covers Iris's mouth*
Natalie: Uh...ok! So I hope you like the story!
Iris: The parts with me in it are the best!
Natalie: *facevaults* Um.... Well on a more sensible notice...this store will get MUCH more interesting! So if this chapter bored the heck out of you, please give the next one a shot! Please?
Iris: Hey! I'm sensible!
Natalie: *ignores Iris* So, until next time, cya!
Disclaimer: We don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, other wise this would be a episode not a fan fic! The things we have to point out....
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"My head down, I force myself to walk forward no matter how hard it gets...don't worry, things are looking up." - Iris
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Prologue: Escape…or is it?
Ayame's POV
I sighed inwardly. My watch was beeping and I looked down at it, 12:00AM it read...It was time.
I was under the covers of my bed, fully dressed, and I'd been like this for over three hours, waiting.
"Natsuko?" I called, slipping my head out from beneath the blankets, "Are you awake?"
"Yeah," came a quiet voice from the small bed next to me. We have to be quiet. If anyone heard us, then we'd be punished for being up so late and our plan would be ruined.
I'm ready and awake, but…I'm scared, though I'd never admit it to Natsuko. I don't want to leave. 'We don't exactly have a choice in the matter…' I try and tell myself, but still…it seems wrong to be leaving the only place in our life that has ever given us a small sense of security.
Knowing that I can't delay it any longer, I finally throw the covers off, revealing my black sweater and a pair of jeans. Both are extremely worn-out. There's a hole in the left knee of my jeans, and the sweater has a small tear on the right arm, where I got it caught on some fencing…but …I'm use to it. Slipping out of bed, I grab my old runners, and look to Natsuko.
She was already out of bed and tying her right sneaker. She was wearing jeans like mine, and a T-shirt of a greenish sea color. Her shirt had a few rips here and there from her "adventures" that led us out windows, through thorn bushes, and even once onto the roof. All of which seemed bound to get us in trouble. Her jeans only went down to a few inches past her knees because she had cut the bottom off to make herself denium gloves that stopped at her fingers. I'm not sure why she did that, I guess it was just her way of standing out in the rundown place we lived. Her long hair was up in a ponytail, but a few strands that were to short to stay hung down in her face. She brushed them away and looked over at me. "Ayame...I feel sort of guilty about this..."
I looked down at my shoes so I could tie my laces up, but also to avoid the look she was giving me. My short blond hair falling into my face and making it impossible for her to look me in the eye.
I felt guilty too, but I didn't want her to tell her, though I knew she could just by looking at my face, I was like an open book…
But I was 14, almost 15, and here she was only about 12. She should have a real family, and not be living in some orphanage. Did I feel sorry for her? Yes. Was I going to give up hope of finding a real family, maybe some friends? No. Never. It was my responsibility to be the braver and more mature one…but in some ways that was impossible…
"I feel guilty too," I looked up after finishing with my shoelaces, "but we can't let that get in the way, Natsuko. Think of what will happen to us if we stay here…"
She knew. I know she knew.
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Natsuko's POV
'…what will happen to us if we stay here....'
Ayame's words echoed in my head. Us, there would be no us anymore. We would be sent to different orphanages, forever separated. I couldn't let that happen, no matter what the price.
Ayame was my best friend, my only friend. And if anything happened to her...well I don't even want to think what I would do.
I locked eyes with her, "Nothing will get in the way...we can't let it."
She smiled weakly, and stared back at me, just as intensely…but I saw the hidden fear deep in her eyes, "Your right, we can't, and we won't."
She glanced at the clock quickly, 12:15AM, "Natsuko, we need to get out of here if we don't want to risk being caught."
I nodded quickly and reached beneath my pillow, pulling out a long connection of sheets. They were tied together in tight knots. Then I watched as Ayame reached into her pocket and pulled forth a hairpin belonging to the orphanage owner, Mrs. Gliver. She walked silently over to the locked window, and skillfully picked the lock.
We were on the second floor so we couldn't just climb out the window…instead I lowered down our "rope" and then tied the other end to the foot of my bed. I hoped it would hold.
"You sure this is safe?" Ayame asked, tugging on the ropes.
"Define safe," I said with my trademark grin. I walked over to the window, and swung a leg out as I glanced back over at Ayame. I flashed her a quick thumbs up and then swung my other leg over the window ledge.
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Ayame's POV
I sighed before rolling my eyes. She was being reckless (if not just using her natural charm). Not that it was anything new, but still... "Natsuko, wait up!"
I heard a light thud and then with a youthful laugh, a voice called up, "Watch yourself Ayame, that last step's a doosy!"
I sighed again and followed in Natsuko's footsteps as I swung one leg over the windowsill...then stopped.
"Natsuko...?" I asked calling into the darkness below me.
"Hmm?" She called up.
"I think I've forgotten something...just give me a second to go look for it, okay?"
"Ok," she answered as her barely visible form took a cross-legged sitting position on the ground beneath her.
I frowned. It irked me that she seemed so calm about this whole situation, though I didn't want to say anything. Instead I quickly ducked back into our room and headed for the dresser on the left side of my bed.
I kneeled down on the floor in front of it and both slowly, and as quiet as I could, I opened the bottom drawer. In it lay old things of both Natsuko's and mine. Important possessions that we couldn't bring along with us...actually we weren't bringing along much of anything, just the clothing on our backs...but still, this thing was important to me and I couldn't just leave without it.
I dug through the things in the drawer...an old teddy bear Natsuko's I mused. One of the eyes had been ripped off, and there was a small tear in it's leg... My first --and only I noted-- pair of dress shoes. They had once been white but now after years of neglect, were almost grey... They might have fit me when I was seven but they sure didn't now.
Finally I came to what I was looking for, it was a gold color, and though it was old, it never seemed to lose it's shine. My bracelet. I smiled, as I slipped it onto my wrist, glad I hadn't forgotten it. It had been my mother's.
As I stood up the pale moonlight reflected off the red gem resting in the center of the bracelet. And on that gem, a faint marking in gold writing was revealed, it was the drawing of a pyramid; and inside of that pyramid an eye stood out.
But I took no notice to that as I quickly slipped out of the window and onto the street below me. I promised myself I would never look back.
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Natsuko's POV
I watched as Ayame climbed carefully down the rope. Unlike my 'graceful' drop, she lowered her self slowly down from the end of the rope which
stopped about five feet above the ground.
I grinned as I spotted a golden glint come from her wrist. Without me really noticing, my hand stopped to rest at the shimmering gold necklace around my neck. It, just as Ayame's had been to her, was a gift from my mother. On it were seven small, golden pendants: a fox, a horse, a wolf, a panther, a dolphin, an eagle, and in the very center, a human form.
Each had detailed markings, and an almost Egyptian look to them. Like the wolf, it appeared to be part Anbus dog (Or a slim black dog, very Egyptian looking.), but it was still obviously wolf. The only un-detailed form was the human. It had only a person's outline and nothing more. But all the pendants had white jewels for eyes and an Egyptian symbol, identical to the pyramid and eye on Ayame's bracelet, in the center of each pendant.
I treasured my necklace beyond any other possession.
"Ready?" I asked Ayame. She nodded. I turned back once to gaze for the last time upon the beat up old orphanage we had called home. There was nothing left for us here and I swore, like Ayame, to never to look back. Silently we began our journey down the dirt path into town.
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