~Chapter 5: Halo~

Yumiko sat down in the snow, finally letting her legs give out. She'd started off running and had slowly run low on energy, thinking that she was in the clear. She knew the village was only a couple of miles away and counted on getting there soon. Unfortunately, her sense of direction was terrible and she was certain she was walking in circles.

She shuddered and held tightly onto her arms, feeling as though she could fall asleep then and there. Yumie had temporarily 'shut herself off' not wanting to speak to Yumiko who was still very angry with her for getting them into the trouble in the first place.

She felt as if she was nothing more than a blot. An insect. All the words her mother and father had called her. She believed every word of it. She'd been born under bad stars and her parents where convinced the only way to redeem her and her twin sister was to 'cleanse' them in their own way. Yumiko covered her ears with her hands, trying to block out the sounds that reverberated in her memory. The screams and the cries and all the words that had been spat at them. She'd remembered what their father was allowed to do to them. She remembered how close she came to becoming nothing more than an insignificant doll for their parents cult. Passed around like nothing more than a hollow shell.

Warm tears fell from her eyes and slowly turned ice as they fell onto the snow below her. She remembered the sacrifice her sister had made to ultimately end it all for both of them. To save them both, she'd sacrificed herself. Because of her, Yumiko was safe from being touched and taken. Because of her, she'd been rescued and taken away by Father Anderson to the orphanage.

She didn't want to end it this way. But as her body fell to the ground, numb and her limbs losing control, she just wanted one thing: to be with her sister.

She cuddled into a small ball in the snow and allowed sleep to take her over, the harsh foreign weather something she wasn't used to.

~Meanwhile~

Angelo had managed to sneak past his mentors, taking a familiar route and calmly walking along. He knew if he rushed, he could easily pass her. He knew, that even with his body working against his head, he had to take it slow for her. He just prayed she would wait for rescue. For him.

"I'm coming...I'm coming Yumiko." He whispered against the harsh wind, the words almost disappearing as his scarf muffled the words. He'd realised that if he were seen by her, he couldn't reveal himself, just encase he got into trouble. The sensible part of his mind didn't want her to see him how he was. Even though he thought she might understand, his own demons where telling him it was better to keep hidden for now.

He passed out of sight of the others and out of hearing range, knowing that he could easily get lost himself in this wood.

He thought that maybe if he was lost, no one would look for him. A mere ten year old boy, called names by other children and kept hidden from the world. He was so busy considering his own demise that he almost missed the mound of snow that had a hand sticking out of it. He almost walked past.

'Idiot!' He turned back suddenly and sank to his knees, looking over who he knew it was.

Yumiko looked as though she was fast asleep. Her body still and blue lips standing out against her pale face, her damp ebony hair sticking against it. He thought for sure she could be dead. He reached out a tentative hand and stroked her cheek, feeling as though he could cry and never stop crying. It was the slight twitch of her muscle in her cheek that he saw that alerted him.

"Yumiko. Yumiko, it's ok! I have you! I'm here!" He quickly wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her onto his lap, carefully picking her up. Although he was only young and she was a little heavy for him, he held onto her and began to walk as quick as he could. He knew he wasn't anywhere close to the orphanage and knew he had to get her warmed up soon. He followed his footsteps and recalled something he'd passed a while back. He found it again, a small undergrowth that seemed to lead underground a little. He pulled away the branches and squirmed in with Yumiko, crawling on his knees as much as he could with her, going deeper and trying to find warmth.

"Come on Yumiko. We're almost there. Wake up." He looked down at her in his arms and saw the flicker of her eyes as she fought against the darkness.

From her point of view, it was as though she had died. She saw herself being taken along a dark tunnel, awaiting to reach the end. She also saw the person that carried her. She couldn't make out all his face, as if was obscured by cloth, but she could see his eyes. His lovely, warm brown eyes.

She found it comforting that someone like him would be looking after her now and allowed the darkness to cover her vision once again, the image of a boy with his face covered, warm gently brown eyes and a small halo appearing around his head.