CHAPTER 3 REWRITTEN (28/02/2016)

Prologue: part 3

→ Ayano

"We're going to escape."

"But... is it... a good thing..."

"There's no reason for us to be here anyway, whether it's good or bad."

"But we'll need to distract the guards right? How are you planning to do that?"

"I'll cause a commotion with Yuma and Kou. A fire would be ideal."

"Hmm..."

"Oi, but when's the execution?"

"Next Monday. And don't bring any luggage, okay? It will only slow us down."

"Yes!"

"Do you think we have a chance? Won't we die escaping?"

"It doesn't matter. We'll crawl out of this hell. By all means necessary."

It was around seven o'clock when Masami was sent to one of the officials. She couldn't help but being nervous, asking herself whether she'd done something wrong. Or worse, did they want to question her about the plan? Ruki had explained it a few days ago and the due date was only a week away. The plan didn't leak out, did it? They would be in serious trouble if the officials knew. The amount of risks the plan contained was immense. Masami didn't even want to think about the punishments for being caught escaping…

Masami was led to one of the offices in the left wing of the building. The women in front of her did not speak to her, nor look at her. This only added to Masami's nervousness.

"Ah you're finally here!" said a tall man, when Masami entered the room. He sat behind a large, wooden desk, pointing at one of the fancy chairs across him. The women behind Masami gave her a light push before leaving the room.

"Come, sit down. Don't be afraid." The man gave her a sickening sweet smile that accentuated the wrinkles on his face. Once again, he gestured at one of the seats. Not wanting to waste any time, Masami quickly sat down with a forced smile, trying not to seem nervous or twitchy.

"I'm sure you're wondering why your here," the man began with his oh so radiant smile. "Since I'm a very busy person, I can't afford to waste any time, so I'll get right to the point, if you don't mind?"

"Of course, sir." Masami couldn't help but feel suspicious. Why was this man acting so cheery? Masami didn't like this at all.

"First of all, I have some sad news for you."

Hearing this, Masami swallowed her saliva. She felt nauseous. What did he mean with 'sad'? What kind of 'sad' was it?

Stay calm, stay CALM JUST STAY CALM.

"Anda-san has passed away. It's a great loss to both the children and the staff. She was such a wonderful woman..." the official said with a sad tone, obviously faked.

Masami gasped unconsciously. She did not expect that. Honestly, that woman was old as balls, but dying? Masami didn't even think Anda-san was capable of dying. That woman was made of steel, children's tears and pure evil. How was she supposed to feel about this? Masami didn't know if she had to be sad or relieved. She mostly felt disbelieve and was terribly confused, but being sad? Or happy? Which one was more appropriate? Anda-san did help her in her own way, but that didn't make up for all the abuse Masami had to go through because of her. This was one hell of a strange situation.

Masami just nodded in response to the man, who looked at her with large eyes full of expectation.

The man sighed deeply. "I know that this could be hard on you, since she practically raised you. But don't let the news bring you down, understood?"

"Yes, sir."

He clapped his hands. "Good! Good! Now, I also have some good news for you."

Oh no.

"We're going to move you to a different department."

No.

"You'll be joining the entertainment group. Consider yourself lucky!" He gave her a big, fat wink and continued. "Hmmm... before that, I heard you had some trouble with your arm, so we'll have to patch that up first, as we don't want to present any damaged goods. Go to the medical room. After that, I'll have someone show you your new sleeping quarter."

'We don't want to present any damaged goods.' Those words kept echoing in Masami's head. From a working animal to a toy, what a transition.

"Aren't you happy?" The official raised his brow upon noticing her conflicted expression.

"Yes, I am. Thank you, sir," said Masami, trying not to swallow her words.

"Good, good! That's what I like to hear!" The official smacked his hands together before pointing at the door. "That's it, you're dismissed. Get some rest, will you?" He winked.

Masami stood up, walked to the door and bowed before leaving. She tried to go over what happened. She couldn't say that she was surprised, but still...

"Okay, I have to calm down. I'm going to be fine. Everything will be fine," said Masami to herself as she softly slapped her cheeks.

Get it together, Masami. Now is not the time to stress. I have to stay calm.

))))))))))))))))))

Masami sat on the small bed in the medical room. The nurse – to be honest, Masami didn't even know they had a nurse here – had disinfected and patched up all her wounds, including the one on her arm. It had been painful and she felt sleepy, because of the medicine she had taken, but that all aside, she did feel a bit better. Physically, that is. Her current situation was a mess and she didn't know what to do. That old hag had the worst timing, dying right before their escape.

Thanks, Anda-san. Great job. You couldn't have waited a bit longer before taking the trip to the darkest parts of hell?

Masami inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly. All those worries should be cast aside. She couldn't do anything about her current situation and knowing they would escape next week, it would be better to just accept it and try to cope with it. She did not want to get in the way of the plan.

"Masami?!" sounded a familiar voice. Masami jumped up, causing her to almost fall of the bed.

"Kou, don't scare me like that!" Masami yelled after seeing the face of the intruder.

"Why are you here?" asked Kou, completely ignoring her ranting.

"Well –"began Masami, a bit taken aback by the sudden question.

A simple 'hey' would have been better, jeez.

"Are you the new one? Are you the one I was supposed to pick up?" Kou questioned.

"I guess so? I was placed in your department today." Masami rubbed the back of her head and sighed.

"You do know what they do to the girls there, right?" Kou said, turning his face to the side, as if he was trying to hide the expression on his face.

"I've heard rumors."

Kou kicked with his leg against the chair next to him, before slowly walked towards the opening of the door. Then he proceeded to just stand there, staring down the hallway, his back facing Masami. An unpleasant silence followed, Masami herself was not sure how to react. She had never seen Kou in such a state and she didn't know him well enough to know if he was the kind of person you had to leave alone or approach when angered. To be honest, Masami didn't even know whether he was angry or just confused. Not that it mattered, since he finally choose to break the silence.

"Come," he said in a calm voice, even though Masami could sense a hint of anger.

As they made their way, Masami couldn't help but glance at Kou every few minutes. He looked more worn out than ever before and the dark circles around his eyes contrasted with the beautiful, bright blue color of his iris. Now that Masami took a good look at him, she saw that his bangs were covering his other eye, not allowing her to see a glimpse of the blind eye. She was curious why, because Kou didn't hide his eye before, so why now? A bit of bandage peeked through the blond locks. Masami wondered if his eye got hurt and how.

Kou let out a frustrated sigh. "You've been staring for a while now, is there something wrong?"

Damn you, curiosity.

"What's up with your eye? You didn't hide it before... And is that a band aid?" said Masami. She was the kind of person to go straight to the point, it could be a good or a bad trait. Though most people did not like her straightforwardness. Either way, Masami didn't care. Kou didn't need to answer her question, she wouldn't want to push him to do so. "Did they do this to you?"

"Ah..." he began. "No, I gouged it out."

"You did what?!" Masami yelled, as she grabbed him by his arm. "Why the hell would you do that?!"

Kou seemingly was taken aback by Masami's reaction. He grabbed Masami by the wrist and shrugged her arm off. "I thought it would make me less desirable, but I guess I was wrong. I should have done both eyes. Or taken my own life, it's not like I want to live anyway."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Masami shouted as she angrily grabbed him by his shoulders so that he was forced to look her in the eyes. "Didn't you want to be able to see the blue sky, Kou? Wasn't that your dream?"

Kou's lips slightly parted, as if he wanted to say something. But no words came out of his mouth, only Masami's angry breathing filled the silence.

Masami inhaled deeply before continuing. "You want to see the sky? You've got to be alive to do so. And giving up is not an option. If we do what Ruki told us to do, then you'll be given the blue sky, freedom and more!." Masami loosened her grip on his shoulders. "I promise, we'll get out of here. Just don't hurt yourself, okay? That would really upset me. Were in this together, alright?"

Kou didn't move an inch. He was completely taken aback by Masami's preaching, especially the caring words at the end. No one had ever said something like that to him before, no one had ever cared. He felt odd... He couldn't describe what he was feeling, it was something unusual, yet heartwarming. Yes, heartwarming. That's literally what he felt for the first time in his life. And those last words kept echoing in his head. 'That would really upset me.' She would be upset if he died. Meaning that she would care if he wasn't there anymore.

She cared.

"I – I don't want to upset you." Kou said slowly, as he looked in those piercing, electric green eyes.

"Good! Because you don't want to deal with my wrath!" Masami shouted, once more shaking him by his skinny shoulders.

She really is something, thought Kou, not able to hide the tiny smile on his face.

"Here's your room," said Kou, as they entered the bright space. There was a bunk bed just beside the window and a small table and a closet in the left corner of the room. It wasn't anything fancy, but it looked nice nonetheless. The room was clean and without doubt more comfortable than her old sleeping quarter.

"Looks nice," said Masami. She walked towards the bottom bed and dropped herself on the white sheets.

"Yeah... One of the caretakers will bring in another girl," said Kou.

"Oh, okay. What's she like?"

"I don't know, she's new. I heard she was wandering around town and they brought her in this morning."

"Oh."

"I'll check on you later, okay? You can just stay in your room for now, I'll tell the others about your transfer later," spoke Kou, as he made his way to the door.

"Okay, see you later!" beamed Masami before burying her head in the pillow.

"Oh, are you still sleeping? What a bummer, I wanted the bottom bed..."

Masami slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was blurry and her hair probably a complete mess. While rubbing her eyes, she slowly sat up, before trying to identify the stranger in front of her.

"Ah, you're awake! Fantastic! They brought our lunch here and it's getting cold, you know? But I didn't want to wake you. You looked really worn out. No offense," said the stranger with a smooth, but childish voice. It was a very pleasant voice, calming and energetic at the same time.

Masami yawned and glanced at the person in front of her. The girl was smaller than her, though she didn't look younger. Her skin was pale and covered with thousands and thousands of small freckles. Her large eyes were a light shade of green, with a beauty mark under her left eye. Her long, hair was draped over her right shoulder, it being a deep shade of purple. Her smile was very calming, yet really intimidating. So were her eyes, not in the slightest way did they look innocent or friendly.

Masami completely understood why this girl was here. She would be a first class moneymaker.

"Come on... Did you lose your tongue? I don't want to stand here for a year waiting for an answer, jeez," the girl said impatiently, before reaching for Masami's wrist and gently pulling her up.

"Ah, sorry," said Masami, a bit taken aback by the sudden physical contact. She might look fragile girl, but her attitude definitely didn't fit that image.

And damn her hands were cold. It was like touching freshly fallen snow.

They both sat down at the table. There were two plates in front of them and two cups with warm tea. The meal consisted of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and small pieces of carrot. It smelled delicious and Masami began gluttonously eating.

Hey? What do you want? I haven't had a meal like this since... Well. Now that I think about it... I never had such an amazing meal in my entire life!

Once done, she saw the girl slowly eating, not even half her plate was finished. Masami noticed that she hadn't touched the carrots yet.

"You want them?" asked the girl.

"Wah, eh... I didn't mean to stare!"

"Oh, it's okay. I don't like them anyway. You can have them." The girl shoved the carrots on Masami's plate with her fork. "There you go."

"Ah – Oh. Well thanks." Masami didn't even get the chance to protest against it. It was strange that someone would share their food. It wasn't something Masami had ever done. Okay, no. She had done it once. Those sugar cubes. But before that? Never. Oh, well. It was not like she didn't want the carrots! So without further due, Masami continued to eat.

"I don't think I already introduced myself. I'm Ayano. But my last name is a mystery and a secret," the girl suddenly said once they were done with eating. She had her hands behind her head and a carefree aura surrounding her.

"I'm Masami. No last name."

"No last name, huh? Well, I personally don't care about last names anyway, so I won't ask you why. Anyway, have you been here for a long time? I don't know anything about this place and I would love it if you could tell me more about it."

Crap. How should I put it... 'This is basically hell.' No, no, that didn't sound so well, even though it was the truth. 'This place is okay... you have a roof above your head...' No, that was a lie and a massive understatement.

"Oh, well... I was born here. And this is not a good place to be. You were unlucky enough to be brought here." said Masami with a mouth full of carrots and potatoes. This was probably the best answer she could give. She didn't want to crush the newcomer's hopes and dreams yet.

"Yes, I was just walking around and suddenly a man approached me and he just knocked me out! I can't believe it! And before I knew, I woke up at this prisonlike place!" Ayano dramatically waved around with her arms as she spoke. She looked more comical than hysterical. Masami couldn't help but laugh, making the food sputter out of her mouth.

A piece of food landed on the most graceful way on the purple-haired girls cheek. Masami's hands shot in front of her face out of shock and embarrassment, but the Ayano didn't even bother to wipe her cheek off. She just burst out in laughter – the contagious kind – for no reason at all, and Masami soon followed. It wasn't even that funny. It was just, her laugh... A laugh that made you crack smile, a laugh that sounded more hilarious than any joke there was, one that was beyond infectious.

"I'm – haha, sorry! I just –" tried Masami after regaining a bit of her breath.

"Oh, come on! It's okay. I don't mind." Ayano replied. She gave her a soft smile – a less intimidating one at that – then swiftly went over her cheek with the palm of her hand.

The two of them then talked for a while, Masami didn't even remember for how long. An hour at least. Masami told her everything about the orphanage, the good and the bad. Ayano occasionally made some funny or sarcastic comments, making them both burst into laughter. Masami also told her about her friends, even Azusa, who Masami still didn't know very well.

Later the day, one of the other kids from the entertainment group came and picked them up. Masami felt a bit disappointed that Kou wasn't the one picking them up, but hey, you can't have your cake and eat it too, right?

Some aristocrats came picking kids, apparently. This scared Masami to death. She felt horrible: the nausea from earlier came back, her hands were sweating like crazy and she nervously started to walk behind Ayano – who didn't seem to worry about anything at all.

"Oh, so these are the new arrivals."

"Sweetheart, they look wonderful. Those green eyes and their flawless skin." The women went over Masami's cheek with a gloved hand.

Stay calm. Don't start crying. Don't be afraid. Stay calm. Stay Calm.

"I agree, darling. It would be highly enjoyable to ruin those innocent little faces..."

"Oh, aren't they just little gems? Our new pearls, for sure. But it being their first time, does raise the price... But we can discuss that later in my office with a cup of tea, of course."

"Yes, that would be no problem. We take our hobbies very serious, so the price will not matter."

"Oh sweetheart, I love how that one looks all scared like all the others, while this one doesn't seem to be scared at all."

"Indeed, my love."

"How I would love to cut up the smug smile of that thing..."

"We can arrange an appointment right now, darling."

Masami was standing in the hallway, a few meters away from her room. She was currently waiting for Kou, who had told her to wait for him, without any other words of explanation.

Ten more minutes passed when he finally arrived along with a certain other person.

Ruki.

"Okay, explain why I had to wait here," said Masami. "And why is Ruki here?"

"I went to check when your appointment would take place," said Kou as he tried to regain his breath.

"Kou! Isn't that a bit dangerous?! You could have been caught, dammit!"

"Two days," said Kou, anger filling his voice.

Silence.

Two days and the plan was next week. Two days before getting tortured and possibly raped. Only two days.

"Ah."

"We are willing to adjust the plans. It's the best option right now," said Ruki.

"No, I don't think that –"

"Stop arguing about this!"

Masami's jaw dropped. Kou had never yelled at her like that before. Hell, he hadn't ever raised his voice at all for all she knew!

"Don't tell me what to do, Kou! And no, I don't want –"

"We have to leave right now, but come meet us tomorrow morning. Azusa will pick you up."

"Wait, no!" Masami yelled, but it was hopeless, they left as fast as they had arrived.

"Oh, what took you so long? And what's with the long face?" said Ayano who was on the top bed, hanging upside down.

"Don't do that, it's dangerous."

"Ignoring my question, huh? Did those aristocrats upset you with their fancy talking? Fufu..." said Ayano casually, her lips curled up in a smirk.

There it was. That attitude of hers. That overly confident and smug smile. Masami wanted to rip her apart at the moment, she didn't feel like talking and this girl was pushing her to her limit. How she hoped to be alone and cry for a while, but that wasn't going to happen in the present of someone else.

"Aren't you a bit concerned? I already told you what they do to the children in this place, yet you keep joking and playing around as if you want to stay here," said Masami angrily. Hiding her emotions wasn't as easy as it used to be.

"I'm not concerned at all."

"Why?"

"No reason in particular."

"That doesn't really answer my question, though."

"I know."

"Whatever, forget it."

And so the conversation ended. Masami lay down on the bottom bed, angrier than she was before. She just wanted to cry about how pathetic she was, cry and drown in her tears of self-pity.

And so she did. Small tears flowed over her cheek and the bridge of her nose and she muted the sounds of her sobs with the blanket. Everything just didn't work out. She didn't want the plan to be moved just because of her. There would be less time to plan things out and she would blame herself if anyone would get hurt. It would be her fault.

On the other hand, she didn't want to go through what Kou had to go through. She didn't want it. She was just weak. Weak and nothing else. Nothing more. Thinking she could handle any more abuse was out of the question. She couldn't handle it. And the fact that she was weak made her cry, made her angry.

"Hey... Masami, right? I'm really bad at remembering names."

Masami turned her back to the voice and pulled the blanket over her head. "Leave me."

"I don't think so. Do you know how long I've been thinking about this? I'm not good at these kind of things."

"What the hell are you talking about?" sighed Masami, too worn out to raise her voice.

"I...Came down, after thinking for a while to – oh, god this is ridiculous. Em... Well. To ap – Ugh no, ugh. Apolo –gize."

"What?"

"Come ON, don't make me repeat myself. Do you have any idea how hard this is for me? I –"

"But what did you say?"

"I am S-O-R-R-Y."

"Oh." Masami still had her face to the wall. It sounded like she meant it. "Okay then."

"Okay? Okay? That's all I get after humiliating myself like that?" Ayano jumped on her bed and wrapped her arms around Masami.

"What the –" began Masami before Ayano started tickling her like a madman. "No – hahaha, stop! I can't –" Masami's poor attempt to push the girl of her did not work at all. Ayano giggled as she tickled Masami in her sides. She stopped after a while and they both lay next to each other, laughing it out.

"See, you look so much better when you smile," said Ayano. "Again, sorry for making you cry."

"Hmmm..." mumbled Masami back, her eyes set on the bottom of the top bed. "It wasn't your fault."

"Okay." Ayano turned to Masami and gave her a dead serious look. One that was a bit scary. No, really scary. "Don't ever tell anyone I apologized, okay?" She gave Masami a glare – Masami was sure that Ayano could kill a man with that glare, and then started giggling like she had done before.

"Just kidding!" Ayano threw her arm over Masami's stomach while moving a bit closer to her. It gave Masami chills, but she didn't protest against it.

"Warm..." mumbled Ayano quietly.

They didn't talk nor sleep, even though both the girls had closed their eyes.

A pleasant silence filled the room completely, for a while at least.

"You're the most interesting person I've ever met." said Ayano thoughtfully, her arm still around Masami.

"Oh? I am? Never thought I could be interesting... I'm just a plain, good-for-nothing orphan. I've never seen anything and never been anywhere," said Masami casually. "I'm not interesting at all."

"You shouldn't label yourself with all those things. Besides you're pretty fun and what?! I can't believe it... You've never seen the outside world?" Ayano shot up and waved with her arms in front of Masami's face.

"Eh... No. I was born here, remember?" laughed Masami.

"What a disaster! There are so many things you're missing out on, so many things you haven't seen or done! Like petting circus animals, yelling your name from the top of a mountain, looking at the stars while climbing a tree, dancing in the woods during a full moon and and and –"

"I know! But just like you said before, this is a prison. You can't just get out of here, dummie."

"Yes you can. You can escape everything. And I know what I'm talking about, I do it all the time." Ayano jumped of the bed and twirled around for a few seconds before placing herself next to Masami again.

"I'm always on the run. Being locked up forever is awful and if you want to be free and explore the world then you should start taking action and change your situation yourself. Sitting by and waiting until someone's going to save you won't do. No one's going to save you. No one will care. The only one who could get you out of this situation, is you and you alone."

"I know, I know -"

"Well, then stop sitting around!"

"I am going to leave this place, okay?!"

"That's the spirit! And whatever it takes, I'll help you out."

Wh-what? Ah, oh shit. No, I wasn't supposed to tell anyone about the plan... Damn... Eh...

"We'll leave tonight!" said Ayano as she jumped up and placed both her hands on her hips, looking like an army officer.

"WHAT?"

"You heard me! You told me about our new 'work' here, didn't you? I'm not thrilled to get beaten by damn aristocrats. If you want to escape, then now is your time."

"But, we planned it next week... My friends. I cannot leave them."

"They can come with us! All of them. I don't care who they are, but if you like them, then so do I." Ayano came a bit closer and placed her hands on Masami's shoulders.

"I want you to see the world, I want you to be able to see what's out there. You remind me of the old me. The one that was locked up. Masami, I'm giving you the opportunity to leave your cage. To fly away and explore the world. There's so much to discover, so many things to see. I'll show you everything. I'll take you with me on my adventure. Our adventure."

Masami was completely taken aback. Usually, she would be able to reply to everything, but now? This girl, someone she barely knew, someone she had just met, wanted to take her on an adventure.

She wants to show me the world. Why would she want to do that? Did she want something from me? She barely knows me.

Can I trust her?

"Why me?"

"The fire in your eyes, the curiosity I saw when I told you about the outside world. It made me so happy." said Ayano, who then mumbled something that Masami couldn't understand.

"What?"

"Well... Oh, this is embarrassing to say out loud..." said Ayano. She gazed out of the window now, looking with eyes that were skimming through the past. "I never had any friends that I didn't lose... I don't want to lose my first and only sister."

It took Masami a minute before she realized what Ayano had just said.

Sister. That's what she said, right? No, no, I'm sure I misheard that. That's definitely not what she said.

Right?

"Sister? Do you see me as your sister?" asked Masami loudly, too shocked to hide the fact that she was shocked.

"Of course, Masami. I know it sounds weird, but I never had one and this is really new to me too. But believe me or not, I do care about you. We are both just children in a stupid and horrible world, and my heart breaks when I heard that you haven't seen any of the beautiful things in life. I, as your big sister, will take the responsibility and show you everything. Or at least give you a chance."

Masami's mouth fell open. She now completely lost the ability to talk and went over what Ayano just said in her head for countless of times.

Ayano now had a real smile on her face, one that actually looked kind and good-hearted.

"I'll help you out and offer you this opportunity. It's up to you whether you'll take it or not."

WRITERS TALK

• So that was it for the prologue! Next chapter will be set in the future and YES flashbacks of what happened in the past will be included hehe.

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