Sena woke feeling better rested than he had in a long time, which seemed wrong. He was nestled in some soft, warm cocoon, there was sun shining through the window, and nothing hurt particularly badly.

Surely there was something he was supposed to be doing, rather than sleeping, in a bed?

The thought jerked him upright, loudly clanking the chain that linked him to the headboard of said bed. He became aware that there had been footsteps going by, when the the sound suddenly seemed to reverse and get louder. That was bad.

He had almost convinced himself that the terrifying face of his master was a trick of his memory, distorted by fear, but when Hiruma bust in through the door, he looked every bit as scary as Sena remembered.

Worse today, because he looked furious.

"Sorry, master, sorry," Sena said, flailing around as he tried to figure out if he should sit, stand, or get down and grovel.

"What are you sorry for?" Hiruma's eyes narrowed suspiciously as he looked around. When he got no response besides further trembling, he unlocked the chain from Sena's collar, and half pushed him out of bed.

"I'm going out. Fatty's not back yet, but I won't worry about him."

It suddenly occurred to Sena that the angry expression on Hiruma's face meant he was worried, but refrained from commenting.

"That means you're going to be on your own here. Now, there's three options. One, I leave you chained up like a dog. Two, I show you what happens if you try to escape," Hiruma's hand on Sena's back nudged just a bit harder against the wounds that Kid had so carefully bandaged the day before, more a threat than actual pain, but the message was clear, "and I catch you, which I will. Or three, you give me your solemn word that you will be very, very good for me, and we won't need the other routes. Well?"

Sena, who had his eyes squeezed shut, praying for anything but option two, suddenly realized that his master was waiting for him to respond. "I promise I'll be good, master," he said hastily, though he didn't honestly expect it to help. "I won't run. I'll obey. I promise. Please—"

"Good." Hiruma dropped the chain on Sena's pillow and stepped back. "There's oatmeal and a protein shake in the fridge, eat them before I get back. Sometime today, go do the 40-yard dash again, oh, a hundred times. Sleep when you're tired. Clear?"

Sena, who was still waiting for option two, or maybe one and two, nodded breathlessly.

"No questions?" his master pressed.

Too many questions. Sena tried to focus on his assignment. "Um, the dash is... between the two red lines?"

"Like your life depends on it," Hiruma confirmed, and was gone.

For a long time after, Sena wandered around the room nervously. The instructions he'd been given didn't sound right, but they were the only ones he had. Careful not to disturb the chain on the pillow, he made the bed around it, on the reasoning that it couldn't be a bad thing to do, but could easily be a bad thing not to do. He'd been directed into it the night before, chained to it, and eventually in the anxious waiting he must have fallen asleep on it. Maybe his master had wanted him in the night, but he'd slept through it? But no, there would surely have been hell to pay if that was the case.

Either way, he had instructions now. He hesitantly wandered out into the hall, where it was dim and quiet, and found himself tiptoeing, finding it hard to believe that he was alone. He passed by the locked door, and the kitchen, and stared at the closed refrigerator for a long while. It was shocking he could even feel hunger this soon after the abundance of last night, but he had no idea how long his master was going to be gone. Long enough that food would be required. Days? Longer? He'd better save it for when he really needed it.

Come to think of it, the amount of food left for him didn't seem proportional to the amount of tasks. Was he meant to find his own work to do?

Deciding he'd better get started on his known assignment, and figure out the rest later, he made his way to the yard. It looked untouched since yesterday: the stopwatch still hung from its nail, the red lines still stark across the pavement. The sun felt nice, and there were actually birds calling in the distance. As he made his way to the starting line, he had only one pressing thought: he really couldn't afford to mess this up.

He took a deep breath, and started to run. One lap, two. He reminded himself that his life depended on this. His master knew when he was slacking.

Five, six. But it was really kind of exhilarating. To be outdoors. To move his body, without pain. To be unwatched.

By ten, he was really out of breath. He didn't know if he was supposed to do them all at once, or if it was okay to take a break. Better not risk it.

Thirteen... fourteen... He was getting really thirsty. His master hadn't given him permission to take water from the faucet. But if he was going to be alone long enough that it was necessary to eat, then water seemed like it would make sense. Or was that what the protein shake was for? Nineteen... twenty...

At twenty-one, he was cut off by a blood-curdling scream.

He came to an abrupt halt, panting for breath even as he looked around wildly for danger. It had been unmistakably human, a man's voice, low and jagged and full of wordless agony. Sena had heard too many screams just like it not to recognize the pain and fear it carried. Someone was being tortured, and...

And it sounded like it had come from inside the house.