Chapter 7: Running not thinking!

Around midnight Kuro was thrown out of his sleep by a loud knocking. Someone hammered onto their house's door; in the living room light was still shining. Arkas opened the door and Kuro heard several persons entering the room.

"What da… What do you want here! You Bastards of the marine got nothing to do on my plot of land!" Kuro drowsy rubbed his eyes and glided down from his bed.

"Don't say you can't remember us, old man? We were here hardly seven years ago!" Barefooted Kuro tiptoed to the door and pressed his head against it for eavesdropping.

"This idiots trying to mess up with me? Oh those were you two?" Again footsteps were heard; apparently more men came into the house.

"Yes and at that time I promised you that it would have repercussion, remember!" Kuro twitched as he heard a glass bursting on the floor.

"Probably we can't take the brat from you, but we sorted something much better out, Arkas! Or should I rather say... Capitan Sica, the reaper!" Kuro didn't quite understand what these guys were talking of, probably he misheard because of the thick wooden door...

"You maybe retired a while ago but a reward of 40 million Berry is not lapsing for a pirate like you! And it says dead or alive! But why alive, if dead suffices?" Kuro started shaking, was his Dad really a pirate? That couldn't be true...

"Is that what you think? That I let myself be arrested by some jackasses like you!" Arkas was not even the slightest bit intimidated, Kuro heard somewhat clanking he knew that sound... Arkas had drawn his daggers.

"Boys! Show him no ones picking a quarrel with the marine!" What happened now Kuro could just guess he heard a lot of racket, wood, glass and bones splintering, shots, cries of pain. Suddenly someone crashed cruelly against the door from the other side. It was pushed open a split wide and Kuro fell backwards.

"Right this, men! Push him 'gainst that wall!" Kuro stood up and carefully peeked into the room. Five soldiers pressed the defying Arkas on a wall everyone was wounded. Arkas had received a grazing shot his specs were scratched a bit.

"Looks like you've gone old and turned weak in your retirement!" The soldier sneering laughed, Arkas spitted into his face. They took his daggers and gave them to their ostensible leader.

"Here Morgan! Beat him off! If you slaughter the swine, they'll gonna make an officer out of you!" The soldier grinned and slit up the left sleeve of his T-shirt.

"Yes you are Captain Sica, the tattoo on your arm's the proof... these daggers with the bones..." He jammed a dagger into Arkas' arm and drew it down through the flesh. The same he did with the right arm. Arkas pressed his teeth together, meanwhile Kuro behind the door watched traumatized. The soldier took Arkas' glasses, threw it onto the floor and trampled on it. It crunched when the glass shattered into thousands of pieces.

Kuro was like petrified and yet an incredible fieriness rose inside him. Now the marine's soldier pulled Arkas' daggers over his chest and without a warning he rammed them into his lung. Arkas coughed and spitted blood the soldier again stabbed him, again and again and again. Kuro's hands clenched to fists, his heart was rushing, he just heard blood murmuring in his ears.

Gradual Arkas stopped defying against being seized, blood streamed out of his mouth, black points dancing before his eyes. The soldier unclasped him and he sank onto the floor. One could hear some ribs breaking when the soldier ruthless trampled onto his back and laughed disgustingly. Suddenly he was thrown to the ground and someone was boxing him into the face, wild screaming. But these were no heavy punches...

The soldier grabbed for a dagger and stabbed without knowing where to. A childlike cry of pain resounded than someone took the attacker´´ from the soldier. He stood up and saw his colleague that held a hissing boy at his collar, with black hair and peculiarly yellow eyes. The boy's right hand bled.

"I know you! You're that brat from seven years before!" Kuro tried to kick and wave himself free, but he didn't manage to. He was living through a hellish deja-vue.

"Get off from my daddy you lousy bastards!" The soldier smirked at him and remembered delighted how he smacked this unnerving brat against the wall.

"Do you really think that guy is your father? God! You're naïve! That one is a pirate, he picked you up on the sea! Surely he just raised you to keep up his masquerade!" Kuro was calm with one second, no more murmur in his ears, the arms hanging powerless down, blood dripping from his hand onto the floor.

"That's... that's not true!" The soldier came closer to him Kuro could smell his rank breath.

"Oh you bet! Your Daddy´´ never really loved you!" Laughing they let fall the disillusioned boy and smashed some furniture while leaving.

Kuro crawled to Arkas and started a faint weeping suddenly he listened up.

"...Kuro... you cry-baby!..." Arkas coughed, his voice was not much more than a whispering.

"Is that... right... what he said... are you really a... pirate?" Arkas smiled in agony and shuddering laid a hand onto the boys shoulder.

"Yes...I was... a... pirate... and I'm... not your real father... but the other thing... it's a plain... lie!..." He coughed blood, Kuro snuggled at him. He gave a shit about Arkas being not his real father... for him he was!

"You have... to survive... understood? You have to... avenge me... yet!" His breath went heavier he was getting quieter and he hardly could speak a word. Kuro clutched into his slashed T-Shirt, a headache started...

"You're a cunning... unrelenting tot...hopefully you got... courage, too...!" For one moment Kuro saw a hazy vision in front of his eyes... golden hairs in the sunlight... far out upon the sea... He had been fainted; Arkas was holding his bleeding hand with last energy. Kuro awoke.

"DADDY DON'T!" But all the entreaty would not avail. Arkas' hold loosened, his breath stagnated... he passed away. Hot tears ran down Kuro's cheeks, he laid next to Arkas one hour...two hours... three hours... he lost every feeling for time. Then he looked up for the first time... Everywhere blood and destruction, now he realized how much mutilated Arkas' body was. He dragged himself out of the house and vomited.

He tried to go inside, but he couldn't. Pictures flared up in his head, images of Arkas' death, how the soldiers tortured him, blood... everywhere blood... he had to leave... he ran away...

o-

On and on he ran without knowing where to, just away... away. He went faster and ran on. His hand was aching, his ankle kinked but he ran on and went ever faster. Five miles in front of him was the village, he didn't wanted to see someone, or talk to someone... just running. He tried to run faster... and it worked. The wind whipped into his face, his eyes watered, but he ran on.

He reached the village, heard the noise of the awakening life, he ran on. °Let me be fast enough, please! I don't wanna see them!° He ran on a painful tug went through his body. Suddenly everything was quiet. The people seemed not to move no one spoke to him... no one looked at him.

But he wasn't wondering. He wasn't thinking about it. He wasn't thinking at all. He was just running. Even when he left the village... no noises. Slowly his throat started burning. But he didn't stop running. The time for him seemed to stand still and yet it went lighter. Immobile animals awaked without noticing him. And he ran on.

Without thinking, without the dreadful pictures, completely absent... just running... running... His heart pounded against his chest. His lungs seemed to explode. But he didn't noticed it. In his head it boomed, meanwhile outside was silence. But he hardly perceived it. Sweat poured over his forehead. In his legs a jabbing pain. But he ran on.

No thought drove him... a subliminal instinct... Running not thinking. He ran and ran, didn't knew where he was. His heart was rushing, interim stopped for fractions of seconds. But he took no notice of the pain. His fingers were cold as ice. His breath went by fits and starts. His throat seemed to be pierced by thousands of little needles. But he ran on.

Passed animals and people that did not see him. His muscles cramped. His whole body thoroughly cried in pain. And he ran on. Suddenly like a thunder a voice broke through the silence.

"KURO!" and he heard it... he had ran and nothing he had seen or heard, but this voice.

"KURO! STOP IT!" He didn't stop, he didn't realise the words' sense at all. His brain had enough work with keeping his body running.

Kira ran behind him, she was as fast as him but she could not overtake him. Desperately she called for him, but he didn't listen to her. Her feet ached... just a little bit farer... she nearly had reached him... She clutched to his shirt. Ran with him and shouted at him.

"KURO! PLEASE! STOP IT!" For one moment his head twitched into her direction, did he noticed her? She ran on, he was so fast... she could hardly keep up with him. He breathed ever erratic – faster – jerkily- he coughed and ran... blood oozed out of his nose, in his ears tiny veins cracked open.

"STOP IT! OR YOU DIE!" He ran on but seemed to have noticed her. He looked aside.

"KIRA! GET OFF!" But she didn't release him just as he wasn't stopping. Now her lung began to ache, too. But she was not yet spitting blood unlike him. And then it happened... She stumbled and fell, but she did not unhand him... Shortly he faltered, overtaxed his body even more and dragged her with him.

The stony ground grazed her knees, but it was nothing compared to the pain that gradual forced itself into Kuro's consciousness. The coldness cut into his skin like billions of sharp blades. His palm bled heavier then before. His feet felt like he was running over glass splinters. His lung seemed to rip every moment but he ran on and on. Kira could not bear it any longer...

"FORGIVE ME KURO!" She waited for the right moment, pushed herself from the ground and jumped onto his back. She bit into his nape...

Instantly he stopped. All pain impacted in full strength onto his mind. The entire racket from outside all of a sudden recurred and crashed onto his tympanic membrane. His body stiffed, his knees gave in, he kinked. And yet before his head smashed onto the ground, everything went black.

o-

When he awoke he just felt the agonising pain, not his body, just the pain. His heart was still rushing like hell, as his breath did. But he was thinking again... Suddenly he turned around for vomiting, the second time this day. His stomach cramped, he had no control over his body.

Still black points flickered in front of his eyes. Where was he? Gradual he felt the cool grass on his skin and the volume lowered to a relative normal level. He was sopping, his face scarlet and scabby blood clung in the corners of his mouth. His breath appeared to him unnaturally loud... but it wasn't just his breath... in anguish he slightly turned his head.

Kira kneeled in the grass, she was heavy breathing, too. She also was scarlet, but her body could still carry her weight. She noticed him watching her out of half opened eyes and hissed at him.

"IDIOT! YOU COULD HAVE DIED!" He didn't knew what she was talking of. His lids went heavy; warmth spread inside him... a marvellous, painless, carefree warmth and a light so balmy and amiable...than everything was cold grey morning once more. Someone slapped him again and again hard in the face.

"DAMMIT! STAY HERE!" Hot tears fell onto his skin, slowly he opened his eyes, Kira kneeled above him. Desperation was written in her eyes till she saw that he still lived. She let herself sink into the grass; they were just lying there... quite a while. Until Kuro tried to speak...

"What... was ... this?" She starred into the sky that slowly coloured from morning-red to a tender blue.

"I don't know what it's called... In fact I didn't knew, you can do it, too..." He starred together with her into the sky; his energy did not suffice for more.

"Why... haven't I heard... something...why... did nothing move...?" Slowly she turned her head to him, she had to press her teeth together... that pain...

"Because you ran faster, than they move. That's why you heard my... 'cause I nearly was as fast as you... I hadn't thought you were that fast..." He closed his eyes and tried to breath calmer, than he opened them again.

"What... did you mean with... dying...?" She looked at him, regarded his maltreated body and was astonished, he didn't realised it himself.

"Didn't you notice that? I know... if one's running for the first time, after it one is really shattered. But if you run that fast presently... I'm already often... but not that fast... And longer than ten minutes your body is actually not enduring it... And you nearly ran four hours... I mean and this at the first time... Your lung, there partly blood vessel and veins ripped, therefore you... breathed blood and your muscles... they burned all the oxygen they could get... and your heart...it can't... it can't beat as fast as it has to... that's why your brain isn't supplied with oxygen sufficiently... that's why we... switch off... if we overstress it... You could have been dead just as that."

He clenched his fist and rammed his fingernails into the cut, again deep red blood gushed forth from it.

"Daddy is... they got him...!" The pictures came back and a third time he had to vomit. Kira kept him upright for him not to suffocate within it.

"...I know... the major wanted to visit him... he did not trust those marine guys... he found him. And asked Kagami and me where you could be. We didn't knew... Right in this moment you passed us. No one saw you... just me..." He glanced into the sky again and his eyes filled with tears, he couldn't hold them back.

He felt cold and empty, was there any reason to live on? Kira put her coat around him and took him into her arms. He was taller than her and nevertheless he seemed to her so vulnerable. She emitted such warmth he occurred himself to be salubriously protected.

"I... I don't want to be alone, Kira... Please, don't go away... please?" She was two years older than him; a bit more mature so and now he almost was as helpless as a tad.

"Don't worry, I stay..." She was tired, she never ran that fast. She wanted to sleep, but Kuro needed her now...

"If you like... you can live with me in the orphanage...They're all very nice there..." She skimmed a black hair strand of his face. Slowly his breath calmed down, his eyes were closed, he was incredibly fatigued...

"... No... I'd like to stay at home... at... home..." Gently he fell asleep. Kira sighed and laid her head onto his shoulder. Her lids fell close when a new day dawned and she too slept in peacefully.

1.Note:

Just want to note it's now around 5:43 am and I wrote trough the whole night. So don't wonder why both are so shattered! And to fully feel into the story you have to be tired! Or you can't grasp the whole atmosphere. Meow ...-;-... (Zzzzzzz)

2.Note:

Translation into English happened at 22.39 o' clock under the influence of lingering and gloomy songs and still an inexcusable lack of sleep.