I could hear the big grin in her voice.

Chapter Thirty-Seven- Miyako's Pov

"Well, well, well. Why are you so sad?" Ren voice cut into me.

"Was it that story I told you about? Aw, don't be sad, you shouldn't have to suffer for something you personally didn't do. Oh, wait, yes you should."

I studied my grimy feet from where I sat, curled up, in that corner, against the cold hard rock. Tears were dripping out of my eyes, landing on the dusty ground, causing dark circles to spread.

"Or is it the paint that you're feeling right now?" She laughed cruelly and struck me again with her new favorite toy, the piece of barbed wire she had discovered in some old shed. It was rusted and sharp, perfect for her uses, painfully so.

It dug into my skin, not just causing the usual line of pain that the leather whip causes, the one she usually used, but its tiny little teeth snagged in my skin, causing it to stick. And when Ren "gently" unstuck it, more and more tears would come, accompanied by more and more blood each time.

Blood and tears, Ren's favorite combination.

"You will never be trusted ever again, do you understand? You broke every line of trust you had, leaving you with no one, nothing, you are nothing, nothing. You used to pretend to be something, all that time ago, but now, it is painfully clear what you are. You are indeed, nothing." She lashed down again, and again.

I cried every time, tears and blood, blood and tears.

"Miyako?" I heard a voice. Where had it come from? There was nobody here but Ren and I.

Another lash of barbed wire, more tears, more blood.

"Miyako!" The voice cried again.

I looked blindly around.

"Miyako!" I awoke to a concerned looking Akito. He had my head gently cradled in his lap.

"Are you alright?" I tried to respond, but I couldn't, the memory was too much, the pain, it had felt so real. Memories of Ren during the banquet struck my mind, overloading it, making it too much to bear.

I started to cry, a little, just a little. Ren and the monks had both taught me that crying was weakness, and weakness, was unacceptable.

But the tears became more and more.

"It's alright Mimi, it's just me. It's Akito, your friend. You're going to be alright." He said, and plucked me up into his thin arms. I was just as small as he was, so it worked, we fit, perfectly.

My arms grabbed onto his neck, feeling his silky hair beneath my finger tips.

He silently stroked my own hair, and I easily sunk into his touch. I was comforted by him, by him simply being there, being able to feel the strength of his chest against my forehead, his strength.

But even though he was there, despite my comfort, I kept crying. Ren's pain was too much. But one day, I hoped that it wouldn't be, that one day, Akito's strength would save me from the pain.

"Shh, it's okay Miyako. I'm here for you, I won't hurt you, and I won't ever leave you."