Ryo huddled into his coat and blanket, trying and failing to warm himself by the fire. He had spent the whole day keeping low to stay out of sight and his back was killing him. He sighed. No food, no place to sleep, a cold night in a strange world, and unwelcome company. The latter was shaking his head at him.
"So the great Marufuji Ryo is just going to sit there and starve?" Edo asked.
"Hopefully not starve," he replied, his stomach growling. "But I am going to stay put for now. It's safe here."
"What about Johan? What about Juudai and all your other friends? What about your brother?" Ryo couldn't see Edo's eyes in the dark, but his tone spoke for them.
"They're fine," Ryo said, though he wasn't so sure. "They're strong duelists."
"So are you. Or at least you used to be. What happened to the Ryo who almost beat me?"
Ryo fixed him with a hard look. "Edo, I'm not arguing with you. Just go on to the prison camp or Haou's castle or wherever it is you're going without me."
"Why are you so afraid?" Edo asked. "In the state your heart is in, you're going to die soon anyway. You'd rather wilt away slowly than go out with a bang?"
Ryo kept his eyes on the ground. "Who knows what Haou will do to us if they catch us?"
Edo shook his head. "Forget it." He stomped away, leaving Ryo to hide out in the darkness alone.