Yui had an idea. He slowly opened the door and tiptoed down the stairs. He silently made his way down the hall and into his brother's room. Taking out one of Fai's jackets, he opened the window and slipped out onto the branch of a nearby tree. Lucky for him the shadows made by the setting sun hid him from the view of others. He carefully climbed down the tree and the moment he touched the ground he broke into a run. Laughing as he ran down the street he only turned to look back once. Why hadn't he thought of this before? If his parents somehow managed to find out about this…well, Yui pushed that thought aside and continued walking through town. He saw everything with wonder. A small and simple food stand was set up in the main square. People of all sorts of ages and sizes barreled past him. A couple of times he was almost run over by horses, carriages, and wheel barrels. His pulse quickened. How anyone managed to survive an average day on the busy and crazy streets, he didn't know. He was lucky to survive with the noise. Still he continued on his way until he found the entrance to the short cut through the woods that Ototen and Fai told him about. Smiling and wanting to share with his brothers on how he walked through there too, he laughed and entered.
Snow began to fall heavily as he trudged his way through the dark cold trees. He shivered and considered turning back. Spinning around, he realized that everything looked the same. Not a single building was in sight. "Great," he said. "Now I'm really gonna get it. How did I manage to get utterly lost?"
Not wanting to freeze, he spun around and walked in the direction he stopped on. "Hyuu…" he whistled (or tried to at least). In reply, the sound of a small bell echoed around him. "Hello?" he called. "Is anyone here?" He waited and heard no human reply, but the bell once sounded again. He closed his eyes to focus his mind and took off in the direction he felt it was coming from. The small bell began ringing more frequently and Yui sped to a sprint. Abruptly, the ringing stopped and Yui did as well. He looked at his surroundings once again to realize he had only gone further into the woods. He sighed and rubbed his arms. "It's colder out here than it gets in the attic," he said to himself.
"Hey!" A voice shouted from behind him. Yui froze. He was spotted. He considered diving behind a tree. If anyone found out that he was out here, he would be in deep trouble.
Amidst the troubled thoughts that raced through his mind, he received the message that someone was poking him. He jumped as a reflex and spun around, falling face first into the snow. He looked up. A boy about his age stared down at him with two great fiery eyes. Yui smiled widely to cover up his fear. "You scared me!" he declared.
The other boy grunted. "Are you lost?" he asked. A few strands of his dark, spiked hair fell in his face. The boy ignored them and pressed on. "What are you doing out here dressed only in a light jacket and a thin pair of slacks? Don't you know it's freezing?"
"I was in a hurry," Yui replied, "and I'm not lost. I've lived here my entire life!"
"In the woods?"
Yui looked down at his hands and blushed with embarrassment. Lucky for him his face was already red from the cold that the other boy didn't notice. "I was only out for a little fresh air," he said.
The boy looked at his wearily then turned away. "Then if you know what you're doing, I'll just be on my way."
Yui impulsively cried out, "Wait…Perhaps you could just point out the direction of town. I-I really am lost." He reached out and grabbed a hold of the other boy's arm.
The boy shrugged him off quickly. "Alright! Just don't touch me! Town is that way." He pointed in the opposite direction Yui had been walking. He wiped his arm where Yui had touched as if it burned him. "I guess I do remember seeing you at school," the boy stated after a while.
Yui nodded. "That's me! I'm Fai!" he lied. "And you are?"
"Kurogane."
"Kurogane? That's a long name. Mind if I call you Kurgy?" Yui chuckled.
"You'll call me Kurogane."
"Alright, Kurgy!" Yui smiled and noticed the boys hands curl into fists.
"You call me that again and I'll leave you here."
"You were going to take me back? How kind of you Kuropuu!"
"Shut up!"
Kurogane turned and walked off silently. Yui followed skipping. He enjoyed bothering this guy. It got his mind away from home. Yui swallowed. He hoped his parents wouldn't notice he was gone just yet. He felt the silence go on with an unfriendly and suspicious air. He decided to break it. "Brr…" he said. "It's cold! Are you cold, Kuro-snow?"
"It's Kurogane, you freak!" Kurogane retorted.
"Wah! Kuro-meany called me a freak!"
"I don't remember you being this annoying at school."
"I'm only trying to hold a nice conversation!"
"Nice conversation? Is that what you call this, balloon head? You're only getting on my nerves!"
"Oooh… Is Kuro-furo angry?"
"I'm done. Hold a conversation with yourself."
"But then people with think I'm crazy!"
"I'm already convinced."
"You're so mean!" Yui stuck his tongue out at the back of the other boy's head. This was too much fun and such a great opportunity. Now he could ask him about the real world. He pressed his pace to match Kurogane's. "You're not from around here are you, Kurgy?"
Kurogane grunted.
"Where are you from? Does it get this cold all of the time too? Is there a lot of people? Are they all nice? Do you have a family? Why did you come here? Did you get in trouble? Are you on the run? What did you do? Are you here because of the war? Do you think it's ever going to end? Do you miss your home?"
"Shut up!" Kurogane snapped. He swung his fist around. Yui saw it and ducked just in time. He danced around a couple of other punches and laughed. He never knew how much fun it was to have friends. Besides, his parents would notice if he returned with some bruises.
"Are you always this annoying?" Kurogane asked him once he was through with trying to hit him. They had finally made it into town.
"Are you always this grumpy?" Yui asked. He chuckled as the other boy turned away in frustration. He would take that as a yes.