Crimson.
Everywhere.
Blood red, crimson.
Drying.
Rusting.
Dying.
He was dying.
We both saw it, clear as day.
Blatantly obvious, as the sky was blue.
Laughter.
Gun shots.
Overkill.
Put out of his misery by not one, but six bullets.
Until the gun would fire no more.
My hand reached for that of the person standing by my side.
Fear gripped me.
Dead.
Dead.
I was dead.
I had seen death before.
I had escaped it before.
But how were we to escape now?
I couldn't move my feet.
I couldn't think, I couldn't process this.
I didn't have to.
He gripped to my hand, pulled. Ran.
Took me from that place.
Our footsteps caused the perpetrator of this crime to jolt upright.
"I see you!"
He'd shout.
Faster.
We were running faster.
Trying to get away.
Trying to get away with our lives.
Reloading.
He was reloading his gun.
Cocking it now.
We were around the corner.
He was following behind.
A crowd, we needed a crowd.
Bam.
Miss.
We were running.
Faster than we thought possible of ourselves.
Heavy breath.
Adrenaline.
Sweat.
Hand dragging me forward despite how my body ached to stop.
Bam.
Miss.
We were out of the allies.
An abundance of people.
Of witnesses.
Safety.
We hurried into the crowds.
Separating friends.
Family.
Everyone.
Stares.
We were in the center of the crowd.
Panting.
Wheezing.
Trying to catch our breaths.
A hand on my back.
A body leaning on mine.
Worry.
Fear.
What to do now?
How to escape this?
We had just gone to find our sisters.
More worry.
Where were they?
Were they alright?
Surely they hadn't been touched.
They weren't in that alley.
Shaking.
Fear.
Worry.
Dread.
Where were they?
A voice soft, yet also sharp.
"Did you guys race here?"
Relief.
She was here.
In the heart of the city.
Where we had been headed.
No more shortcuts.
Not at night.
Not during day either.
What was I to do now?
Murder.
We had seen a murder.
A brutal one.
The hand on my back fell.
The person leaning on me steadied himself.
Jounouchi Katsuya.
A deep breath.
Fear in his eyes.
"That guy was Yakuza, Kaiba."
Frozen.
We were witnesses.
Not to any murder.
But to one committed by Yakuza.
We were walking dead.
We had no hopes of staying alive as we were now.
I forced words past my stiffened tongue.
"Are you certain?"
A scared expression.
"One-hundred percent."
Our sisters looked on at us in bewilderment.
They hadn't a clue as to what we were talking about. This was for the best.
"Nii-san?"
A hand on my shoulder.
"It's nothing, Mokuba, don't worry."
It was everything.
We were dead.
We were nothing to the Yakuza.
Just a nuisance.
We were better off dead to them.
Easier to keep us quiet.
Easier to keep them safe.
They couldn't have us squealing.
They knew our faces.
Soon our sisters would have to do without their elder brothers.
"We need to go to the police."
He was insane.
If we spoke we were definitely dead.
"We can't."
He wouldn't have my refusal, not at all.
"We're safertalking than we are keeping quiet."
By this point our sisters were dizzy with worry themselves.
"The police will offer protection for any information we can give them."
Of course they would. I wasn't a fool, I knew this.
Yet the protection they offered. It would take me from my sister, it would separate us.
"I can't accept that."
Mokuba would take my hand.
"Whatever it is nii-san, take it, if you're in trouble, I want you to be safe."
She spoke with more wisdom than I had in my system at this moment.
I'd nod.
Mokuba was my voice of reason.
I needed protection.
I couldn't leave my sister, but I also couldn't die on her.
Separation was better than death.
That we could both agree to.
At least she'd know I would be alive and well.
Even if I were to be hunted for the rest of my days. I could be offered a new identity. A new life.
I'd hate it, but what choice did I have?