Hello! I don't have much to say on the author's notes but happy Valentine's Day! I didn't write a valentines special because I was so busy, but today I have a lot of free time so I may as well update :D Hope you enjoy~
Warning: Death, blood and slight gore.
Morro lifted himself onto the top of the ladder and pushed the drain cover with all of his might...until it was magically pushed off by itself.
"Hello!" Simon stuck his face into the hole to greet his friend.
The long haired boy was startled and almost slid back down into the tunnel before Simon caught him with two hands.
"Simon you scared me!"
The short haired boy smiled sheepishly "Sorry...Here."
Simon pulled his friend towards the surface. They then slouched on the stone ground and panted in exhaustion.
"How long were you here?..." Simon puffed up his cheeks randomly.
"About fifteen minutes."
"Fifteen minutes?!"
"Oh come on, I was bored and I was too excited to talk to you again!"
Morro slid his hands against his face and groaned.
"We see each other every afternoon."
"So?"
Simon decided to sit up and stretch out his legs, he then placed Morro's head on his lap and began to play with his hair.
The ten year old looked at his friend from below with an eyebrow raised "What are you doing?"
"Playing with your hair, I always wondered why it was so long. Don't you have scissors?"
"Yes, but I don't want to cut it. I think it looks better like this." Morro smirked "But if it gets way too long then Kurumi cuts it back into shape."
"I go to the hairdresser every Saturday, so my hair doesn't get long."
"What do you expect, you're rich you posh snob!"
"Hey!"
Simon tugged at Morro's hair.
"Ow!"
"That's what you get for calling me a 'posh snob' meanie!"
Morro giggled in defeat "Fine, okay."
The two sat in silence for what seemed like forever. Not an awkward silence, but a comfortable one. Morro stared up at the sky, feeling the refreshing wind blow against his cheeks and the sun's rays illuminate his sight. Simon intertwined his fingers into Morro's black, silk strands. The two's visits had started to become more and more frequent. By every visit, Morro had become comfortable with Simon which was something he had never expected. When the boy admitted that he finally thought of Simon as a friend with a glowing blush, Simon cheered and tackle hugged Morro (Who scolded him, but he secretly didn't mind).
Finally, Morro broke the silence.
"Hey can I talk to you? Keep playing with my hair though, it feels nice." Simon smiled.
"Sure, what do you want to talk about?"
"In the shelter, once we turn ten, after a few months we take this test. Everyone is supposed to have different jobs to contribute with, unless you're younger than ten-it's an early age but they need a lot of help. Anyways, my test was due two weeks ago because I decided to skip it. They only repeat the tests for three weeks. If you fail, or if you miss all of the tests, you get kicked out of the rebellion. I don't really want to do the test, but at the same time I don't want to get kicked out. If I do the test then I won't get to see you anymore, I'll probably stop having free time. What do you think I should do?"
Simon puffed his cheeks up and tried to look mad "Morro, you shouldn't miss out. Take the test, having a place to live is more important than seeing me. Besides, we could always just decide on another time to meet."
He nodded "Good point. You're right. I just wanted a second opinion that's all."
"Hey! I have an idea!"
Morro looked upwards to face Simon.
"Why don't we go to the town centre, it's beautiful and I have so much to show you!"
The long haired child gulped "Umm...Simon, you can go ahead but I can't be seen in the streets, I'm poor."
"Only if you look like you're poor! Here, come inside. Don't worry, the servants are having their lunch outside and my parents are working. No one will know!"
"Don't you have slaves or something? Most rich households have them."
"My parents get them temporarily sometimes-especially if they're having one of their stupid 'parties' or fancy dinners."
Simon gently took his friend's hand and pulled him inside, shutting the door behind him. The first room they appeared into was the kitchen. Simon took him further into the house, which met the two with an extravagant hall, stretching out as far as the eye could see. Paintings and a clock decorated the walls and chandeliers hung from the ceiling.
"Come on, my room is this way!"
Simon took him towards a large spiral staircase until they reached the second floor. Morro was met with a landing, just as beautiful as the hallway downstairs.
Morro's friend opened a door which revealed a bedroom. It was a typical little boy's bedroom. Blue everywhere, toys, racing cars: you name it. Only this was huge. He even had his own bathroom, also decorated in a similar way to his room. Not to mention the queen-sized bed-the bed frame was also a racing car!
"My room is comfortable, cosy and all, but your room is amazing!" Morro stared in awe of the room, taking in every detail.
"I know right! The only benefit of having posh, rich parents is that you get cool stuff! Other than that they suck." Morro stared at his friend, perplexed.
"Really? Why? Weren't you admiring them a few weeks ago?"
"Yeah, but now I know the truth about poor people. Not to mention they never really looked after me as parents now that I think about it, they just relied on the servants to take care of me. They even hired a wet nurse to breastfeed me as a baby!"
"A wet nurse? But they were used in the olden days!"
"Some rich parents still like to use them for their babies, including mine." Simon sighed "Anyway, come on! We have to get you to look good remember?!"
"Oh yeah."
The short haired began to go through his wardrobe and throw random clothes on the bed.
"Here! Put these on!"
The ten year old hesitantly took of his clothes, leaving out his underwear. He then got dressed into Simon's clothes. His outfit consisted of a black waistcoat, a white, long-sleeved shirt, a blue pair of pants, white socks and smart black shoes.
"Perfect! Now let's sort out your hair!"
Morro ran his fingers through the strands protectively "You won't cut it will you?"
"No, silly! I just want brush and style it."
"I'm not a girl you know..."
"Trust me! You won't look like one, I'm not an expert at hairdressing anyway, it'll be simple."
Simon once again pulled Morro to another set of stairs. The third floor's landing was similar, but there were now a few photo frames as well. Then Simon took him to another bedroom.
"This is my parent's room."
The room was elegant and mostly made up of brown and cream colours. The bed frame was made from red mahogany and above hung a beige canopy. Not to mention the bed was unnecessarily long and wide. The quilt and pillows were cream coloured. There was also a dressing table, probably made from rosewood and a flowery mirror in front of it. Morro was pretty sure there was also an en-suite in the room, but Simon dragged him to the dressing table before he could check.
"We're here to do your hair not lead you on a house tour!" He reminded him.
Morro sat at the dressing stool and Simon began to brush his hair. The brush went through the black and green strands with ease, not a single tangle.
Simon looked surprised "Wow...your hair is surprisingly smooth. I thought you never brushed it."
Morro chuckled "Well...yes, I wouldn't, but Kurumi brushes it every morning for me."
"Your sister sounds like your mommy now that I think about it!"
"Sometimes it feels as if she is, but obviously I mostly think of her as a sister."
Simon grabbed a hair band and tied Morro's hair back firmly, but not too tight. The hairs poking out at the very back were few in number.
Simon led his friend to a mirror.
"Wow! I look as if I've been rich my whole life!"
"See! Now let me grab a shopping bag to put your old clothes in-so it looks like we're carrying food, we can't leave it here."
...
The two walked together through the streets; Morro carried the shopping bag in his left hand.
Simon pointed "Hey look, there's a fruit stand! Wanna get something?"
Morro shrugged "Sure."
Simon grabbed a pear whilst Morro took a golden apple. The two took a bite of the delicious fruit, smiling at each other with their mouths full.
"Oi!"
The two turned around to see a chubby, middle-aged man with a beard.
"I hope you're paying for them fruit!" He yelled.
"Oh yeah! I forgot we have to pay for these things! Normally my parents get it for me, so I'm not used to paying for myself!" Simon hissed into Morro's ear.
"Are you paying or not! I ain't playing nice if you don't got no money!"
Simon gulped "Sorry...sir, we don't have any money on us. I could go back to my house and get some if you'd like?"
"You'd just run away you lying scoundrel! You two are poor ain't ya?! Probably stole these clothes from a rich house: thieving crooks! I have every bloody right to kill 'youse right now!"
He snatched Simon's hands and raised a butcher's knife at Simon's wrist, the child screamed in fear.
Suddenly, Morro kicked at the man's face and made him drop the knife as he yelled in pain. Morro quickly swiped if off of the ground.
"Run!"
Now Morro grabbed Simon's hand and pulled him along, only much quicker. He could hear the man yelling and screaming behind them.
A loud shot ran through the air, Morro looked behind him to see two policeman shooting at them with rifles.
"They have rifles!"
"WHAT?! We just took an apple and a pear, why are they doing this?!"
"Because they'll do anything to poor people, didn't I tell y-?!"-
The two then skidded to a halt. Dead end. The platform lead to a steep drop-it wouldn't have killed them but it would've for certain badly injured the two. The ground beneath them was a field of grass.
"What do we do?!" Simon asked his friend in a panic.
However, before Morro could reply, another gunshot rang through the air and hit behind Simon's ankle. Simon startled, fell forwards and tumbled onto the ground below.
His body hit the ground with a thud, only he didn't get up.
Morro's breath wavered in quiet shock.
"SIMON!" He called out in worry. To make matters worse, vicious barking could be heard from behind him. A police dog?!
Morro allowed himself to slide downwards onto the steep cliff and reach the ground. The first thing he did was shake the boy.
"Simon! SIMON!"
He didn't wake up.
Morro turned his friend's body around. His entire face was covered in blood.
Dreading the worst outcome, Morro put an ear to the boy's mouth.
Breathing.
Morro nervously laughed in relief, but Simon was still unconscious. He could bring his friend to his own home, clean his wound and leave him there to wake up. But what if it wasn't just a wound? What if he was slowly bleeding to death and needed medical attention as soon as possible?
He had no choice but to bring him to the rebellion shelter.
A sharp, pressuring pain could suddenly be felt on his arm.
"AAAaaaAAAGh!" He screamed in agony.
To his horror, the dog had made its way towards him and was biting deeply into his arm; blood was trickling from its sinking teeth. The dog pushed Morro to the ground and began growling through its teeth.
Morro grit his teeth with tears of pain and fought back, he put his leg up and kicked at the animal's stomach. It flinched, but then bit harder, causing more blood to spurt from the wound. He screamed once again.
He was reminded of the weapon he had stolen from the marketplace and realized the knife had been knocked beside him; he reached for it with an outstretched hand in desperation...until it was kicked out of his reach.
A policeman smiled at Morro maliciously.
"Killing a dog, well that's not nice is it now?" He mocked him sarcastically "Seeing as he won't kill you, I guess I'll have to do it myself." He grinned evilly as he took out a shotgun and aimed it at the bloodstained child.
A gunshot fired and Morro winced with closed eyes...was he...dead?
The long haired child looked up to see blood spurting out of the guard's throat. He gurgled blood for only a mere second before he collapsed onto the grass. His killer stood behind, still holding a gun. The police dog was then kicked by the neck, releasing its grip on Morro's arm and skidding onto the grass. It whimpered pathetically before another gunshot sounded, putting it out of its misery.
He couldn't help but sympathise for the animal and shook nervously, seeing the dead guard and his dog.
He then saw his arm. It was a mess of blood and flesh and was bleeding like mad. He stared in horror, holding back the urge to throw up.
A whole group of men and women came, all equipped with weapons. One woman was carrying Simon's limp body, bridal style. They were...from the rebellion! They must've been assassins!
"You okay kid? We're taking you and your little friend back to our base, everything's going to be alright-"
Morro turned around, only to see two familiar faces.
"MORRO?!" Kurumi and Ezra yelled in confusion and worry.
The ten year old's sight began to fade as he collapsed to the ground and slipped out of consciousness.
WeLL DeN~