The sky was gray and the rain fell lazily, pattering quietly on the iron bars. It was supposed to be cold in late autumn; it certainly looked cold. But I couldn't feel it. Maybe because I was the same temperature as the rain that clung to me.

Maybe I'd die from pneumonia before we reached our destination. Before strangers could decide my fate. Maybe I'd never have to face torture or solitude; I'd just fall asleep and never wake up. A quiet voice in my head told me I shouldn't welcome death.

And yet, as I stared unseeingly at the passing blurs, it was easy to tell that I didn't care. Whether my destiny was agony or sweet release; it didn't matter. I was numb to it all. The cold, the rocking of the cage, the wind that stung my arms and legs; none of it mattered. It didn't even matter where my worst enemy was taking me. Though, something told me that I should have been more concerned... I tried hard to remember why.

I'm a prisoner now... but... some day I might not be... I reminded myself. And the vaguest hope of being able to see Haruka smile in the sunshine again kindled a warmth inside me. And immediately, I wished it hadn't, because numbed fingers once warmed hurt more than when they were frozen. The same could be said about my consciousness thawing as I became reacquainted to my misery.

The cold gripped my heart tightly; I curled up and clutched my old night shirt as I shook. The old pains hurt so much... I'm sorry your big sis won't be there for you, Haruka... be strong...

Rubbing my aching arms, I shivered and looked around. We were in a forest, and if I was remembering correctly, we had been for at least the past two days. On the first day, it was mortifying to hear the whispers and endure the stares of strangers, but the longer we had ridden, the less people we'd seen and the denser the wood became. Above me I could barely glimpse the grayed sky as night approached. But I could definitely feel the chill preceding it.

"Oi, Kawamaru, you worthless bastard...!" I called hoarsely over my shoulder as Kaito drove the horses. "Where are we?!"

He was silent for a moment.

"Ahh. Are you finally alive in there?" He asked genially, ignoring my insults and question. "It had been three days, I was getting worried that you'd be a zombie when we arrived."

"Three days..?" Maybe I'd misjudged how long we'd been in the forest... I hugged myself against a breeze. So I'd been in this cage for three days, in nothing but my threadbare night shirt and my father's old pants. "Where exactly are you taking me, Kawamaru.."

Kaito Kawamaru was silent, but it was hard to hear over the rattle of the cage and clip, clop, clip, of the horse's hooves.

"Oi, Katio..!"

I heard him sigh and saw his shoulders fall.

"I told you before; I'm taking you to the Lords of the Forest. Don't you know who they are?" He asked almost tiredly. I scowled, feeling like a child.

"... I might have heard of them once or twice..." I muttered.

There was silence. Then he sighed again. "We used to play a game called the Castle in the Forest when we were kids, do you remember?"

"Hmph. No, I don't.." I scoffed. I'm certain I tried my hardest to forget our brief friendship...

"Well I do." He said. "You need at least seven kids to play it and a forest. Six of the kids are the Lords of the forest, and they hide behind trees and bushes. Then, the rest of the kids start at the same tree and have to escape the forest without being tagged. If you're tagged, then that's game over for you."

Kaito talked like he was glad to converse. That, or he was fond of that stupid memory... I doubt that though... I sat in bitter silence and pretended he wasn't talking about us being friendly. He was merely talking about something he and his evil cousins had played when they were snot-nosed brats... not me. I played with the cattle in the field, not the lords in the forest.

"... sounds rigged." I said over the rattling. I heard Kaito laugh faintly.

"Oh yeah, it was. The fewer prisoners you had trying to escape the forest, the harder it was to escape" He said fondly. "... we usually only had you."

"Wh-what?!" I spat. "Just me?! That sounds terrible!"

"Hah... you didn't think so. You always chose to be the prisoner escaping. And sometimes you won."

I scowled bitterly. "Well, I hope you know, I'm not too happy about being the prisoner this time..."

"Yes, but you still chose it." He said easily. "You chose it when you sold that calf to a dairy farm, and you chose it again when you surrendered to me."

I felt the heat rise in my chest. "Hardly! There was no other choice!"

"Really, Tsukimura... you could have chosen to let us have that calf. That was an easy choice."

"Not for me, damn it! I loved her!" I shouted.

He was silent.

"... what about all the other cows you've eaten? Didn't you raise those, too?"

It was my turn to be silent.

"... Yuki was special... you could have chosen any other calf, Kaito..."

"Aika. Cattle are meant to be eaten; that's the way it works. A cow is a cow, no matter how you look at it."

I leered at the back of his head. I felt heat stir in my chest, and wondered if he felt the fire I glared at him. "Right... and I guess all Kawamaru are filthy monsters, no matter how you look at them."

He sighed and we returned to silence. Along with his cold shoulder, I felt the chill seep back into my chest, and somehow it felt colder than before... it must have been the night's descent that chilled me.

When the trees became a live, swaying tunnel and the dark crept closer, Kaito paused to light two lamps. When he did, he said "We'll be arriving soon."

I watched him hang the lanterns from poles with mild interest. "How do you know where this place is...?"

He glanced at me as he stood on his toes. "It's easy; there's only one road that goes this deep into the forest. At least in these parts; there are six different paths to the castle... you know that this forest is enormous, right...?"

I glowered. "Of course I can tell it's enormous; we've been in here for days."

He sighed as he managed to secure the lamp. "Yes, but the place we're going to is the center; if you wanted to get to the other side of this forest, it would take twice as long. Can you imagine how big this wood is?"

I held my knees and sulked. "... who cares how big it is...?"

He shrugged. "You might. If you want to see your brother again."

I glared. "... why would you care if I ever saw him again, Kawamaru; it's your fault this is happening... do you even know what they're going to do to me..?"

He shrugged a shoulder as he climbed back onto his seat. "Tsukimura, you stole the cow from me, so it's your fault. And it's up to them to decide the punishment for cattle theft, not me. But if I know them like I think I do... you won't be back for a long, long while..."

I leered warily. I could be tortured and killed for all he knows… he really doesn't care what happens to a childhood friend.. Kawamaru really are monsters...

"... you're a real asshole, you know that...?" I could barely hear myself as he drove the horses forward. But honestly, I wasn't sure I wanted him to hear me. "... do you really hate me so much, Kaito...?"

I was resigned to remain silent and accept my fate.

"... it's just business, Aika."

I'm sure no one's interested in all this background stuff and all these... non-Sakamaki people. But fear not! They're coming.