Aoba huffed indignantly at being told to hold his tongue as Masaomi crouched down next to him. The distinct sound of horse hooves passed them by at a leisurely pace, followed by the squeaking of wheels belonging to a carriage full of what they assumed to be small children. The pitiful wails coming from within made Kida's stomach turn while Kuronuma didn't feel any particular way about it. Once the carriage passed and was a ways off, the blonde peered over the top of the boulder and looked around. Seeing that there was no one around other than the people in the carriage, Masaomi stood up and continued walking the straight path he'd been taking.
Aoba sighed and stood up on his tired legs. They'd been walking all night and now it was early morning. In the grey light, fog settled heavily in the empty valley. Dew hung from blades of brown grass and a chill seeped into the teen's bones.
"I can't walk for two days straight, Kida. I need to sleep for a little bit.", Kuronuma said as he found himself sinking back to the ground.
The blonde turned and looked at the shorter male before running a hand through his soft hair, stress obvious in his demeanor.
"We're going.", he said simply.
"I'M staying. You can go if you want.", Aoba growled back, a glare settling on his face.
Masaomi sighed and walked back up to the shorter teen; all the while the first-year staring him down. When Kida was standing right in front of Kuronuma, the younger teen held his chin up high in a challenge, but the blonde wasn't having any of it. Pulling him up by the hood of his jacket, the older simply turned back around and pulled the smaller teen along. At first, Aoba made distressed choking noises, but once he was able to walk in a way that wouldn't have his air pipe cut off, he let Masaomi have it.
"What the hell, Kida! I just told you I can't walk anymore!"
"Keep it down, the sweepers will hear you if you keep it up.", the blonde replied as he kept trudging forward.
Aoba closed his mouth immediately after that comment and began to walk on his own, making Masaomi let him go. The younger teen understood how Kida felt, honestly he did. He would like to live too, but the Aoba wasn't a damn machine that never tired. Kuronuma knew that getting to Mitsukue was extremely important, but his legs were beginning to shake violently now. No matter how good getting to a safe cabin sounded, it didn't stop the shorter teen's legs from giving up on him not even a few yards from the Boulder they were hiding behind. Kida, hearing the thump of the teen falling to his knees, turned with a glare.
"I really can't walk anymore.", Aoba explained as he let himself sink to his rear.
The blonde ran a hand through his hair again and looked around as if there were people lurking in the fog, just waiting to pounce once they had the chance. He honestly looked like he didn't want to stop even once until they were safely in the cabin, but what was he going to do? Carry the underclassmen all the way there?
"Fine.", Kida finally sighed, "We'll stay here until midday and then we're going."
After his defeat, the blonde slowly sat down next to the shorter teen and spread his legs out in front of him; arms behind the blonde to hold him upright. He would be lying if he said getting his weight off his legs didn't feel good. No sooner had Masaomi got comfortable, a head of dark hair leaned into his shoulder, using him as a human pillow without, so much as asking permission. Kida tsked, but didn't push the younger away. It was only practical that they would use each other for warmth and cushions given the situation. The blonde cursed softly when he felt a sudden exhaustion roll over him as Kuronuma's warmth sunk into his chilled bones. He was tired too, but he couldn't sleep while they were out in the open. That was a literal death wish and Kida has never been suicidal, so he steeled himself and kept his eyes peeled for any sign of life within the heavy fog.
Despite how he promised himself he wouldn't, Masaomi wound up falling asleep soon after Aoba did. The blonde woke with a start and found that he'd somehow managed to wind up on his back. Along with this discovery, he also found that Aoba had managed to use the older's stomach as a pillow without waking up the blonde. Kida gave a quick look of disgust before he moved his attention elsewhere.
Looking up, he saw that the sun was low in the sky; just a little past the midday mark. They had stayed for too long. When the blonde moved to get up, he heard the distinct sound of a gun being cocked. The upperclassmen froze on the spot as he looked down and saw a pistol aimed at his face from a few feet away.
"Don't move unless I ask you to."
Masaomi swallowed heavily as his eyes slowly drifted from the barrel of the gun to the actual attacker. Long blonde hair and a pale face came into view along with piercing blue eyes. Kida knew this girl, or at least he'd seen her around and knew her name.
"...Vorona?"
Blue eyes widened in recognition. She turned her head to yell something in Russian to someone behind her and then she glued her eyes back to Masaomi. A familiar dark-skinned man along with a shorter, but no less familiar pale skinned man, came into view and the blonde felt his heart leap in relief. Aoba soon woke up when he felt the presence of other people and slowly sat up, his hands still resting on the older male's stomach and gripping into the fabric of Kida's jacket.
"Simon! Dennis! Thank god it's you and not those Sweepers!" Kida yelled in happiness as he quickly sat up.
Simon's brows furrowed as he said nothing and turned his head away. Masaomi then knew that something was definitely up. His smile died on his lips as he exchanged a look with Aoba.
Varona was hurriedly talking to Dennis in Russian as she stole glances down at the two. The pale skinned old man looked at them with a remorseful gaze all the while before he sighed and looked away as well.
"Throw them in back.", another male said behind them making them all jump.
This man was extremely tall, had bandages wrapped around his nose, mouth, and chin, and had light brown hair.
"But Egor… We know these two…", Dennis replied, his eyes turning back to the pair huddled on the ground with his eyes still reflecting remorse.
"I don't care. We have orders and that's to bring back test subjects to the ship. These are the first two we've come across in three days and we can't go back empty handed.", Egor responded as he walked back towards the carriage they were using that looked more like a giant wagon.
Aoba tensed up and looked as if he were going to make a run for it, but before he could even twitch, Varona had pulled out a second pistol and was aiming at his head too.
"Come. We have orders."
Izaya groaned as he came to, a ray of sunlight suddenly hitting his face. His shoulder ached and the informant was sure that his bandages needed to be changed. Looking around the room, he found himself in a comfortable bed and not down in some dark cellar. Bright morning light filtered in through the window and Orihara could clearly see Sukeban glowing in the sunlight, grazing peacefully.
"Right. I've decided to meet up with the monster I despise…", the informant sighed as he sat up with much difficulty and stood.
No matter how much he longed to just lay in bed and sleep for three days straight, he had to change his bandages or risk infection. Walking out into the hallway, Izaya immediately saw that Shizou had fallen asleep on the couch. Orihara rolled his eyes at the stupidity of that since there was, in fact, another room with a bed. Izaya walked up to the coffee table that still had the dressing and bandages on top of it. With a huge sigh the raven haired male turned to look at his injured shoulder, still covered in bandages but with a little bit of blood showing through here and there.
Painfully, he reached up and began to take the bandage off. Orihara hissed when the fabric had to be ripped from the healing skin at the wound site, but other than that, he took the pain quietly. Not wanting to look at the unnerving hole in his body for too long, Izaya quickly dressed and re-bandaged himself before he went into the kitchen to wash his hands.
Vaguely, Orihara thought about looking around the cabinets for something to eat, but found that he had no appetite at the moment. With a sigh, the informant dried his hands and turned to look at the simple room. There were no books or magazines laying around, but there was a DVD player though and the T.V that it was plugged into. Izaya made a mental note to look around for some movies later on, but right now the thought of staying inside was absolutely revolting to him.
A snort came from just outside the cabin door and Orihara found himself walking over to open it up. Bright light assaulted his vision, burning his irises for a few long moments before his eyes adjusted. Sukeban was as calm as ever as she curiously watched two small birds fight over what seemed to be a worm. Her short ears were angled forward and her nostrils were flared to drink in the birds' scent as she crept closer. Eventually and inevitably, the mare got too close and the jittery little creatures took off in fear, the worm forgotten. Izaya softly chuckled at the palomino's antics as the horse stared longingly into the tree the birds had flown into, her whole demeanor breathed sadness at being unable to make friends with them.
"Keep trying, Suke-chan. I'm sure one animal in this forest is bound to like you.", Orihara laughed as the mare immediately nickered a response and trotted up to him happily.
The raven held a hand out, waiting for the horse to press her nose into it on her own accord. After their usual greeting, Sukeban carefully nosed at his hair, his neck, and very carefully over his bandaged shoulder. Izaya was genuinely surprised that a creature of her size was so gentle and yet so powerful; how she seemed to be almost at the intellical level of a young human child. Orihara had come across a lucky find. The mare made soft noises that could only be described as cooing when the informant reached up to comb her messy mane back into place.
"You know… We probably should have named you Shizou since your coat color is the same shade as his hair.", Izaya joked as he ran a hand down the mare's long, elegant neck.
The horse snorted loudly at that and the raven found himself stupidly laughing again. From inside, Shizou was curiously listening to the light, soft, and genuine laughs coming from the informant. It was a sound he'd never heard come from the male even when said raven was laughing directly at him and Heiwajima vaguely wondered if Izaya's face still had traces of a smirk even when his voice sounded so light and jittery. Standing up stiffly, the bartender made his way to the cabin door and opened it casually. The blonde wasn't prepared for the sight of Orihara playfully blowing air at Sukeban's nose, making her snort and raise her tail in a playful gesture, even though he expected a change in behavior.
Chuckling, the informant repeated the action two more times and before he could do it a third time, the mare took off running the other way, throwing her back legs up playfully as she took a lap around the clearing. Afterward, she trotted back up to her raven and simply rested her great head on top of Izaya's own, the informant gently tucked under her chin. The informant quirked a brow and looked up, his hair becoming a mess, pressed under the horse's cheek.
"What do you want? A hug?", Orihara laughed as he ducked his head out from under Sukeban and finally realized someone had been watching them.
"Lurking around like some pervert now, are we?", Izaya smirked as he turned to face him.
"What are you doing, flea?", Heiwajima asked gruffly, ignoring the obvious jab at him.
"She was so lonely that she was trying to make friends with a couple birds fighting over breakfast.", Orihara explained, "It was so endearing that I took some pity upon her and came out to keep her company. Why does it matter to you?"
Shizou didn't say anything for a long moment as his eyes narrowed.
"I don't trust you or this fucking act you're putting on. You want something. I don't know what it could possibly be, but you want something. There's always something with you. Maybe you got yourself shot on purpose and even left Kida just to follow this plan of yours.", the blonde finally growled as he drew close to Orihara's face.
Izaya smirked all the while though his eyes looked absolutely murderous.
"Let me just get one thing clear, Flea. I don't trust you. Never have and never will.", Shizou spat.
"Oh dear~! You've caught me, Shizu-chan!", the informant began sarcastically, "I got myself physically injured just to come all the way here on the chance that you may or may not help me."
Shizou stood his ground as Izaya, in turn, got in his face.
"Answer me this, Shizu-chan. Why would I risk my life for something like this? What do you have that is possibly worth putting my life on the line for? And why, honestly now, why would I get rid of Kida? What point is there in that? He's more useful to me while he's with me if anything.", Izaya hissed.
Suddenly Heiwajima felt stupid. When the informant put it all into words, it didn't make as much sense as it did in his head.
"Come on, Suke-chan.", Orihara said as he walked off towards the little pathway trail they had used to walk to the cabin the night before.
Izaya had heard running water the last night amongst his pain and he was a hundred percent positive that the palomino needed to be watered. Sukeban, not acquainted well with her name yet, didn't know she was being called but her informant was walking away from her and that meant she was to follow.
"Where are you going?", Shizou asked suspiciously once they were halfway across the clearing.
"To get her some water, Protozoan. I'd think you'd be able to deduct that since there's no water here, she's obviously not been drinking the required amount she's supposed to.", Izaya scoffed, making Heiwajima shoot him a deadly glare.
Shizou had been wondering since last night if this was even all real. Did the flea really come to this cabin, or was he finally losing it after being completely alone since this all started? The flea was being so uncharacteristic last night, but the bartender suspected that must be because he'd taken a bullet through his shoulder and was slowly dying. After sitting alone with his thoughts all night, though, the blonde started to become suspicious and paranoid. From his past experiences, having Orihara around always spelled disaster and disaster right now was not what he needed.
With a sigh, Shizou walked back into the cabin he was slowly starting to despise. All he'd ever seen for the past long and drawn out week were the four white walls of the front room. With no books, newspapers, or job to keep the bartender occupied, he found that he was slowly wondering what the point of it all was. Life was centered around adult responsibilities and money. Without it, what was there left?
Heiwajima had one goal, though, that kept his mind occupied enough for him not to lose it. He had to find his boss, Tom, and his brother, Kasuka. He'd promised himself he'd look around for them the first chance he got; try to fish out some leads with some intimidation, but honestly, the bartender didn't even know where to start. Shizou wasn't one for things that required too much thinking or planning, that was Izaya's gig.
A growl resonated from Shizou's stomach and he decided he'd better eat something. Take-out was all he'd ever eaten when he lived alone, so he didn't know how to cook anything of nutritional value. Heiwajima had always promised himself he'd learn from Tom, but he never got around to asking out of either embarrassment or forgetfulness. Because of this, the blonde had been limiting himself to eating snacks... lots of them. As of now, though, there weren't anymore left. At loss of what to do, the bartender sat on the couch and thought; his hands folded under his chin as he stared at the cabinets from the living room.
Kida leaned back into the wall of the carriage, his eyes burning with molten hatred as Aoba sat in an uncharacteristic silence that made the blonde feel a little uneasy.
"Can you at least tell us what they're going to do to us?", the older of the two teens asked, his intense gaze resting on the tall, mostly silent, and bandaged man that was against the opposite wall; watching them closely whilst twisting a hunter's knife around in his hands.
The man's movements stopped as his eyebrows raised. Blue eyes narrowed as he looked the smaller male up and down with a cold, calculating gaze. When the teen didn't waver under his scrutinizing eyes, the man sighed and leaned back into the wall behind him.
"What do the rumors say?", Egor asked in weird sounding Japanese as he scratched an ear casually.
Masaomi's brow quirked at this, but he responded nonetheless.
"That the Sweepers take you to government-run concentration camps and experiment on you. Then, once you're perfected, they force you to fight on the battlefield."
The light brown haired man chuckled a couple times before he leaned forward again, his eyes captured in the fiery gaze of the blonde once again.
"You aren't wrong, but you aren't right either.", the man said as he began to turn his hunting knife over in his hands again, "These camps you speak of, are not concentration camps. They are military training camps."
Kida feels Kuronuma shudder beside him, but he can't tell if it's because of the cold chill sweeping in from the open end of the carriage or the fear of the future.
"So what's the plan from here then?", the blonde asked, not once breaking eye contact.
"You have a lot of questions... ", Egor stated as his eyes became cold again, "I'll slit your throat along with your little boyfriend's if you even think of escaping."
Brown eyes stayed glued to blue-grey ones as a smirk found its way onto the smaller male's lips.
"You wouldn't do it. You can't. We're the first people you've come across in three days and you just can't come back empty handed now, could you?"
The tension in the small space seemed to intensify as the man stopped turning his knife in his hand and gripped it tightly. His piercing gaze bore down into Kida's unwavering one as Aoba looked back and forth between them while silently cursing Masaomi, his ancestors, and his seed after him. The silence was suddenly broken by a deep, hearty laugh from the Russian man in front of them; his head thrown back in earnest as his grip on his knife loosened.
"I like you, kid", the man sighed as he finally calmed down," You have some real guts, you know that? "
Kida's eyes still held the same burning hatred as before which was now a huge contrast to Egor's softened and light ones.
"I'll tell you everything you want to know, but only because you're the first to stand up to me like that.", the male said before he leaned back as he twisted his hunting knife around again.
"Okay then, which country do you work for?", the blonde asked.
"I've sold my soul to my leader and he has sold his sold to his country. Everything he does is for and because of Russia's leaders."
"So we're being transported to-"
"A camp located in the Siberian wilderness of Russia, south of the city Norilsk.", Egor finished.
"And what's going to happen to us when we get there?"
"First thing, you'll go see the doctor. To check that you are healthy. If not, you are shot through the head, like a horse with a shattered leg. If you are healthy, you are given a shot that puts you to sleep and you go to the scientists."
Kida swallowed slowly as he found himself pushing his body closer to Aoba.
"They then do their magic. Prod around a bit, inject you with a few things, cut you open maybe, and then you go to the rehabilitation barracks until your stitches are all healed up. After that, you go to the training barracks where they teach you how to use your new body for killing purposes.", the man finished as he watched Masaomi's eyes show slight fear before hardening again.
Egor was sure the teen would ask more, but was surprised when he simply got a firm nod in thanks as the blonde turned away to look out the open end of the carriage. The Russian man was going to turn away too, having lost interest, when the smaller teen beside the older caught his attention. The teen was huddled close to Kida, as if he needed to be protected, but his eyes didn't match his actions. Aoba's gaze was wandering over everything, taking in information silently.
Egor immediately recognized his motive. The underclassmen was making himself seem weak to draw attention to the brazen and fiery Masaomi. By doing this, the teen could freely take in information or carry out actions without arising suspicion.
"...smart.", the Russian murmured as those wandering brown eyes rested on Egor's grey blue ones.
Kuronuma's eyes narrowed immediately after realizing that he'd been had. His gaze gave off a much more intense heat than Kida's and the male found himself struggling not to completely turn his head away. This kid was dangerous, deceptive, and had great intelligence; definitely something Egor would have to watch out for in the future. The man was about to finally speak up to tell him so, but the teen's eyes turned away from him and out the open side of the carriage; avoiding the conversation purposely. The Russian scoffed, but let him be as he busied himself with his knife.
-
Izaya sighed as he and Sukeban finally reached the stream the informant had heard last night. It was further than expected, but for the mare it was well worth it as she greedily drank.
"Sorry that I didn't give you water sooner, Suke-chan.", Orihara apologized as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through the horse's mane, "You saved my life after all, so the least I could of done was ask Shizu-chan to bring you down here last night."
The raven patiently waited for the palomino to drink her fill as he found himself braiding sections of her mane. It was surprisingly a calming and satisfying pastime and Orihara knew he'd be busying himself with this task more often. When he was nearly done with the last braid, a loud neigh made him jump. It wasn't to the right of him, where Sukeban was with her head now raised, but to the left of him. Following the direction of the mare's gaze, he saw a man far down on the opposite side of the stream leading four horses down to the water. Izaya's eyes narrowed as he recognized the Defense's uniform on the man and thanked God that the palomino hadn't whinnied a greeting to what may have been her horse peers at one point. Turning away and tapping Sukeban's neck to get her attention, the raven walked away from the stream and back to the trail they took to get down here. Luckily, the mare followed immediately and without so much as making a sound.
Orihara sighed, realizing that no place in Japan was ever truly free of the Sweepers. Hopefully, this squad was only passing through. There would be no reason to stay since the town was empty of any signs of human life. Vaguely, Izaya wondered about the whereabouts of Masaomi. Was he on his way here? Was he injured somewhere? Was he dead? Did he manage to get captured even after Orihara more or less took a bullet for him?
"Hey, you!", a voice spoke a few yards behind the raven, jerking him from his thoughts.
Orihara turned and saw that the man from the stream was standing there as if he'd teleported. Why had he not heard him? The male seemed young, about early twenties if the raven had to guess. His brunette hair was a beautiful shade and the first thing the informant noticed about him. It was dark brown with a burgundy tint to it that glowed in the sun. The male's face had many sharp angles, especially in his cheeks and had a strong jaw. Usually, Izaya found these features a little too exaggerated, but it fit perfectly on this man's face. Above piercing, dark, evergreen eyes were near perfect, broad eyebrows. This man was truly a work of art in every aspect and the raven found himself wondering how perfect he looked under that uniform of his.
"Yes?", Izaya responded, a smirk on his face and a quirk to his brow.
The male blinked as if brought back from a trance and Orihara held back a chuckle. Seems like he wasn't the only one who was wrapped up in someone's looks.
"That's my brother's horse.", the brunette stated flatly as he looked in the raven's brown eyes that seemed to be more of a reddish color.
The color wasn't anything the man had ever seen before in his life. It was so incredibly striking to him, even though many would disagree.
"Is his name Kiro, by any chance?", Izaya asked making the male stiffen slightly.
"Do you happen to know what happened to him? He's missing in action."
Orihara frowned. Telling the truth could have negative effects and that wouldn't be good news for him. He couldn't run due to his injury and was unarmed at the moment. Those honest green eyes held a stubbornness, worry, and underneath it all, a kindness that made Izaya give in. This man wouldn't hurt him.
"I'm not sure if it was your brother at the time, but as I was fleeing from the Defense attack in Ikebukuro, a civilian pulled a gun on a squad that was pursuing them. Shot him through his neck and the horse took off.", Orihara explained, "I found her in the outskirts of the city a few hours later and I rode off on her."
The brunette's eyes reflected sadness as the informant watched on silently.
"Oh...I see… At least Hinata made it.", the male said in a bittersweet voice as he put a hand up for the mare to push her nose into it.
Without any hesitation, Sukeban walked over and did just that as she nickered softly. The brunette ran his hand through the familiar white mane of the anglo arab, pulling the mare's mane nicely between her ears to cover her white stripe marking. it didn't take long for the green eyed male to notice the braids that Izaya had twisted into the mare's hair on the side.
"So I'm guessing that you're going to take her from me then." , Orihara said in a voice that sounded more disappointed than he would have wanted it to sound, " Just don't shoot me through my shoulder like those other idiots did. "
Damn, he didn't mean to sound so much like a pouting child. Izaya quickly noticed that his lips were pulled into a frown too and quickly corrected it.
"No, I wouldn't do that.", the brunette chuckled, " She seems to be in pretty good hands and you seem pretty fond of her anyway."
Orihara felt another frown make its way onto his face and corrected himself again.
"What'd you name her?", the male asked as the mare craned her neck to look at Izaya and neigh at him as if beckoning him closer.
"Kida-kun decided on Sukeban, but I wanted to name her Aki.", Orihara explained as he dared walking just a little closer so that he could place a hand on the palomino's stomach, "I came to a happy medium and decided to call her Suke-chan."
There was a comfortable silence for a long moment as Izaya reached over to the mare's mane to finish the last braid. The brunette watched with silent interest for a few moments before his eyes wandered over to the informant's naked upper-half. The raven was slim and on the more petite side. Though he had a small frame, underneath his perfect pale skin lay muscle. The brunette could tell since the solid structures filled Orihara out in all the right places. The male frowned when his eyes rested on the bandage wrapped around Izaya's right shoulder. What a sin to mark up something so perfect.
"Is it bad?"
"Hmm?"
"The gunshot wound."
"Oh, that.", Izaya sighed, "It hurts and it looks disgusting, but it's not infected."
"I'm sorry…", the brunette replied in a murmur as he averted his eyes to the ground.
Orihara blinked once and then twice before one of his light laughs broke the silence.
"What for? You're not the one who shot me.", the informant laughed, tears slightly forming in his eyes because of how hard he was laughing.
Green eyes looked back up to find a sight that made the brunette's heart stop. Izaya's eyes were now glimmering like rubies as his face flushed a perfect shade of pink; his expression carefree even in the mists of what surely must be the end of the world as they knew it. The man shook his head clear.
"Kiyoshi Kazuki.", the brunette said suddenly holding out a hand for a firm handshake.
Izaya stopped laughing as he stared at the man's hand curiously for a moment.
"Kazuki, huh? Orihara Izaya.", the raven replied taking his hand, "Nice to meet you, I suppose."
A blush creeped up Kazuki's face at being addressed by his first name so suddenly and was forced to glue his eyes to the ground again.
"So why are you working with the Defense? You seem too kindhearted for this sort of job.", the raven asked suddenly, catching Kiyoshi off guard.
The brunette's blush disappeared completely as the soldier's eyes became distant.
"And you would be right in that assumption. I signed up at eighteen to protect my country and my older brother since he was so set on doing this. We were never thrown into action until now.", Kazuki began as Izaya watched him carefully, "I hate it."
"I didn't sign up to terrorize the people I'm supposed to be protecting. You should see what they've been doing to them…", the brunette sighed.
"Trust me, I know. I've lived two weeks in it.", Orihara scoffed as he ran a hand down Sukeban's neck.
"Are you staying here?"
"In the middle of a game trail? Of course.", Izaya said sarcastically.
"No, I mean in this town."
"I was planning on it, why?"
The brunette's eyes suddenly became deadly serious as his piercing green eyes bore into izaya's burgundy ones.
"Listen to me. You have to leave. By tomorrow."
Orihara was caught off guard by this and looked at the taller male in confusion.
"Why would I do that? The cabin is hidden enough that it should be fine."
"Maybe, but not for long. The Defense is turning this whole town into another Training camp and more and more squads are pouring in to clear the area out and set up walls.", Kiyoshi explained.
"Dammit…", the smaller male murmured.
"Escape southwards and over the bridge, it's the safest way."
Suddenly Orihara became cold as his eyes narrowed.
"And how do I know there isn't a trap laying for me there?"
"You don't."
"And you expect me to just take your word for it?"
Those green eyes didn't waver for a second as Izaya sighed.
"Why are you helping me?"
"Hmmm, who knows? You just seem like the kind of person I'd enjoy being around for however long that'll be from now.", the brunette laughed.
"Wait... Are you-?"
"Planning on running away with you? Yeah."
"You hardly even know me.", Orihara stated coolly, "You shouldn't trust me, you know."
"Is it weird that I do? If I'm going to make it out there, I'm betting my best chance at surviving is sticking with you. I've been wanting to leave for weeks now."
The informant let out another sigh.
"Yes, but if that's really what you want to do then I really can't stop you."
Kazuki smiled as his green eyes lit up.
"Tomorrow at sunset travel towards the bridge, I'll be waiting on a bay horse."
"Is it possible for you to bring a second one?", Orihara asked, thinking about the blonde back at the cabin.
"Why? Do you really have that much stuff?", the brunette asked curiously.
"No, but I can't just leave Shizou here."
"Shi...zou?"
Of course someone as beautiful as Izaya would be taken. How could he have been so stupid?
"Mmmhmm, Shizou.", Orihara smiled, reading the male's thoughts right off his honest face.
It was hilarious to Izaya just how let down the brunette was. Kazuki honestly had no clue how much they despised each other.
"Y-Yeah, I can bring another one."
"Tomorrow then.", the informant smirked as he began walking towards the cabin.
"Tomorrow." , Kiyoshi replied as Sukeban's ears flicked backwards to hear her raven's footsteps going away from her.
Kazuki watched silently as the palomino whinnied after the petite man and happily trotted to catch up with him. Tomorrow was it. The day he finally worked up enough nerve to abandon his line of duty.
-Prologue For Next Chapter-
Kida shifted a little bit as his rear began to hurt from sitting in one spot for so long. Aoba had his head resting on his shoulder again, but the blonde was unaware of the fact that the teen was wide awake and glaring daggers at Egor who stared calmly back. Kuronuma promised hell in his gaze, promised revenge for what was coming to him. The Russian man made a mental note to watch this one very closely, closer than he'd thought he'd had to before.
"Tomorrow at sunset, we'll be sailing towards Russia.", the bandaged man said turning his gaze away from the shorter teen and to Masaomi instead.
Kida's eyes flickered up to look the man in the eyes before he looked away again.
"Tomorrow, huh?"
"It's best to forget anyone you're thinking about right now, Kida, because you'll never see them again.", Aoba finally spoke up, "We can't spend time lingering in the past now. You need to focus on the present or you'll just drag us down again."
Masaomi glared at the male beside him, his brown eyes lacking murderous intent though, Egor noticed.
"As soon as we get there, we're going to be subjected to the one thing everyone's trying to avoid, thrown into military training, and then after that placed on the battlefield to fight to the death.", Aboa began heatedly, " Right now, I need you to be on the same page as me because I need to be able to trust that you have my back. Even though I hate you more than anything, we need to stick together and we both need to be mentally present."
Kida stared at Kuronuma in silent shock as a silence settled over the room. Burning brown eyes met wavering brown eyes until the carriage stopped along a river.
"Best listen to your boyfriend, kid. Anything from before isn't important, not anymore.", the Russian said as he jumped out to help relieve the horses of their trails so they could drink.