They were scared!
They were cold!
They had no idea what was going on!
They sniffed. They were crying.
They were confused.
They were alone.
All alone.
They weren't sure what was happening, their memories from before they were stuck in the terrible prison they now were forced to stay in, were unclear. The torture they had to endure each and every second was weighing down on them. They were just a child! A child who had gotten caught up in the mess of something they didn't even understand! Their life was like a never-ending cycle of pain! It hurt to move, to talk, to even breathe! Knowing that the people around you would take out their anger on you if you only looked anywhere but the ground was terrifying. They had no real understanding of what was going on and even if they did, they were sure it wouldn't make things at all much easier.
They closed their eyes.
They tried desperately to escape reality and travel to the realm of dreams.
The thought of the nightmares lurking beneath made a shiver run down their spine.
All they wanted was to escape the cruel reality that was their life.
All they wanted was to be in the kind and gentle arms of their mother.
Her soothing voice as she sang lullabies always remained just out of earshot and they craved to hear, to see the woman who had loved them, one last time.
A harsh kick to their back caused a yelp of pain to exit their mouth and they bit their lip to prevent any more sounds from escaping them. Tears leaked from their eyes and ran down their face, they made sure not to look up, they didn't want to get into any more trouble by looking one of the bad people in the eye. The others from before had all gone and had left her alone. They didn't want to suffer the same fate the others had!
The man who still had his foot pressed into their back growled.
"Waddya think ya doin' layin down 'ere, ey?" He put more weight on the foot resting on her back. "Why don' ya make ya'self useful and get to work!"
The clatter of a broom and a bucket and sponge hitting the floor echoed in their ears and they bowed their head as much as they could in their current position.
"Heh!" The weight on their back was gone as the man stood, two feet on the ground behind them. "Well? Waddya wait'n for?" He kicked them over to the cleaning equipment and they trembled as they tried to get up.
Their limbs were incredibly weak and their knees threatened to buckle with every step they took. They were growing used to it though, the feeling of barely being able to hold yourself up. It was becoming their new normal and it took everything out of them to just carry on living. Even in such terrible conditions, they didn't let themselves take the easy way out. They were determined to carry on living. They were certain that not all the world was bad and that they would manage to find a way to get to the good part of the world.
They picked up the broom and clumsily gripped it. Once they had a good hold on the object, of which was taller then they were, they began sweeping. They tried their best to keep at a steady pace not going too slow but also not going very fast. They didn't want one of the scary people to think that they were being lazy and punish them. They feared that they wouldn't be able to stand if they had to face another beating.
The room they were in was quite filthy, cobwebs in every corner, a layer of dust creating a blanket over the entire room and an unidentified stench. They weren't fully sure where they were, all they knew was that they had been traveling from place to place for ages, their only company being the scary people who gave them harsh punishments for nearly everything they did.
They grit their teeth when their arms began shaking and quickened their pace. Hopefully they would finish soon. They didn't want to think of what would happen if they collapsed before they managed to finish cleaning.
Soon they had finished sweeping and they moved onto scrubbing the floor. They filled the bucket up with water from the hose outside and found some soap. They then squirted some soap inside the bucket of water and plunged the sponge into it.
Next came the actual process of scrubbing the floor, cleaning the floorboards. It took hours and by the time they had finished, their knees were red and their hands were raw and blistered. There were also several splinters stuck in their skin from the uneven wooden planks that made up the floor.
They sighed as they took a moment to rest. Unfortunately, their short break was interupted but the same male who had ordered them to clean earlier.
"Oi! Don't think ya off the hook yet!" He yelled. "Time for ya to do some dust'n."
They frowned and bit their bottom lip as it began trembling. Spiderwebs.. that usually meant spiders. They inhaled deeply before exhaling and bowing their head. They weren't allowed to talk to the scary people. If they did they would be punished. The last time they had actually talked to someone was before the others...
They shook their head. They had to stop thinking about that.
"Oi!" A kick to their head caused them to crash to the ground. "Are ya listen'n to me? When I come back I expect this place to be free off cobwebs, ya hear?"
They bowed their head and didn't stand up until the sound of footsteps grew silent, indicating that the man had left the room. Their knees were still shaking but they determinedly ignored it. They stumbled around and managed to find a yellow cloth and a spray bottle.
They once again made the trip outside to fill the spray bottle with water. They looked around and felt tears prick their eyes. Though they couldn't see much since wherever they were was tightly knit with buildings, just being outside made their mind wander to far away lands where they and the others could have lived happily together without having to worry about what they had gotten themselves involved in and live in constant fear. They would be able to live how the wished and talk whenever they pleased, they wouldn't be pushed around and abused, they wouldn't suffer..
They bit their lower lip and inhaled deeply as they tried to fight the tears pooling in their eyes. As far as they were aware no one was watching them at the moment. The scary people only checked on them every now and again and on most days they would be thrown into a dark, cold room and would be forced to stay there until their existence was remembered and one of the bad people let them out and gave them some food along with chores and on most occasions a beating too.
They could just.. walk around for a bit. Get a taste of freedom, only if it lasted for a moment. They would be satisfied with that. They- they would! They wouldn't run away! They just wished to have a peek of the world that existed outside of their prison. Their cage was an- oh -so -lonely place! To even catch a glimpse of people walking along the streets of a busy village, happily getting along with their day whilst the brilliant sun shone down on them, showering them in a warmth that they could only imagine would be more then enough to feed their hunger- their desire for freedom.
They bit their bottom lip harder, not caring for the pain they were now inflicting on themself. They knew it was all but a dream. It was all simply wishful thinking. They knew that if they saw the outside world- if they felt even a faint sense of freedom they wouldn't be able to hold back. To resist the urge to run. To deny the temptation of escaping the hell they were in.
It was.. unfair. Why must they stay in the shadows of their confinement? Why must they remain in the dark? Why did they have to suffer the agony their memories inflicted upon them? The trauma.. the fate of the others.. their prison.. the abuse.. it was all too much.
They desperately wanted to scream, to cry out and tell someone- anyone- about their sorrows but who was their to tell? Who was there that they could vent to? Who was there that could comfort them, that could help them? They were all alone and that was the horrible truth.
No one would listen because everyone was oblivious. No one would comfort them because no one cared. All they could do was try and live, try and survive longer then the others. They couldn't face the same end as them, they couldn't rid their mind of the memories of the others' mangled faces, their ears would forever ring with their strangled screams, and their limbs would forever tremble because they couldn't do anything to help.
So why would anyone help them?
They didn't deserve it.
They didn't because they didn't help the others.
They had been selfish and afraid and this was their punishment, their karma.
They had travelled into a new village, the scary people leading them through the abandoned alleyways. Distant voices tickled their ears and they strained them in order to pick up what the words were. They were so concentrated on trying to decipher the faraway noise, they hadn't noticed that their pace had slowed. Unfortunately, one of the scary people had and they were met with a kick to their lower legs. A quiet wine escaped their closed mouth as they came into contact with the ground. Their teeth dug into their bottom lip as the man behind them repeatedly kicked and stomped on their back.
They were used to this treatment. It had been a part of their routine for ages. It was kinder then their treatment had been before, as hard as that was to believe. Before they had been forced to lay down on a cold, hard table that their limbs were bound to by a sort of metal cuff. Before they had been through absolute torture and their hazy mind could only pick up a few words throughout the torture sessions. A scroll was brought up on multiple occasions as was some kind of language. The person who was talking never spoke the language though, only talked about there being one. With all the pain they hadn't been able to speak or fully comprehend what their tormentor was saying or asking and after they had woken up from passing out- a common occurrence whenever they went through such things- their memory was unclear.
Just as black spots began spreading across their blurry vision, the man stopped. They were then forced to stand up and they continued travelling through the alley. A few minutes later they came to a stop and one of the people at the front of the group did something with their hands. They watched, confused, as the person's arms moved swiftly. Then they felt a shiver run down their spine as the hairs on their arms and on the back of their neck, rose.
Their eyebrows furrowed but before they could get lost in thought, a harsh nudge from behind put their legs into action and they mindlessly followed those in front of them.
They exited the alleyway and couldn't help but marvel at their new surroundings. Lanterns were lit up as they hung from buildings, lighting up the night. They admired the different designs of the colourful lanterns as they travelled through the bustling streets, being careful to not stare too long at anything lest one of the scary people notice and punish them.
From the corner of their eye they spotted a stunningly beautiful woman with peach coloured hair that was done up in a bun. Pretty chopsticks kept her hair in place, delicate looking ornaments dangling down from the wooden accessories by a small chain. The woman wore an expensive looking kimono and their eyes sparkled as they watched her walk, she was so elegant!
The woman looked exactly like the princesses the kind lady had shown her in the fairytale books! Silky hair that had a stunning shine to it, expensive clothes that fit her form perfectly- even her movements were graceful!
They were brought out of their reverie by a loud crash. Their eyes involuntarily left the pretty woman's form in order to find out what had caused the noise.
Angry yells met their ears and their eyebrows drew together as they watched the scene in front of them. One of the scary people had crashed into a food stand, the merchandise falling onto the ground as the wooden crate that they had been in lay in pieces. The man selling the products was the one yelling, spouting insults and swearing crudely. They scrunched their nose up at the vulgar language and looked back to where they had spotted the beautiful woman dressed in the glamorous plum coloured kimono.
Their eyes widened when they couldn't see her. Sure there were quite a few people around but the woman 's beauty stood out amongst the crowd.
From the corner of their eye they spotted peach and plum darting into an alleyway and before they could think they followed after the colours. The scary people were too preoccupied with the commotion to notice their disappearance, not that they were paying much attention to them, their mind was too concentrated on the princess.
They looked around the alley, their eyes searching for the woman they so desperately wanted to admire. Just the thought of running their fingers through silky peach hair that smelled of lavender was enough to make them smile.
They heard a soft growl and their eyes zoned in on some cardboard boxes stranded next to the wall of the alleyway. They cautiously approached the boxes, slowly crouching, ignoring the ache in their legs. They lifted up one of the boxes and froze when they spotted an animal. The creature had four legs and was covered in hair. The animal's hair was mainly white with a few patches of orange here and there. The creature had sharp blue eyes and its pupils were dark slits. It had a dark purple piece of material tied round what they guessed was its neck. The animal also had a tail that was abnormally long, at least from what they could tell. To be honest they had no idea if the creature's tail was abnormally long but they did recognise what this creature was. It was a cat.
Their eyebrows furrowed as tears pricked their eyes. Their mother had a cat. A beautiful white one with bright blue eyes and a pink nose. Warmth was what filled them whenever they thought of the feline. She had always snuggled up next to them when they slept, constantly making sure that they didn't get into trouble. Their mother had told them that the feline was unable to have kittens and so, in a way she felt as if they were her child when really, their mother was the feline's owner.
The white cat had a beautiful tail that was notably shorter then the cat's they were staring at. Their mother had told them that there are many different types of cats so maybe white and orange ones were different to white ones?
The cat blinked at them before scurrying away. They watched it go, looking around the alley once more. Tears glistened in their eyes as they realised that they were lost. They tried to stand up but their legs gave out and they ended up collapsing onto the ground. They managed to crawl over to the alley wall and sat up, their back resting against the wall. They let out a wail as tears ran down their face, snot escaping their nose.
Just the thought of what the scary people might do once they discovered their absence made them tremble in terror. They felt sick with anxiety as images of beaten bodies and rooms stained with blood filled their mind.
They were lost and had no way of returning to the scary people- they weren't even sure they wanted to go back to them.
Their eyes squeezed shut as their arms wrapped around their legs that were pulled up to their chest. Their form was shaking violently as they tried to get rid of the terrible images.
They felt a presence in front of them and looked up only to silently gasp in shock as their wide eyes landed on the pretty princess they had gotten lost trying to follow.
~{*.*}~
"Hey! What are you doing?"
They opened their eyes, having not noticed that they had even closed them in the first place. They swallowed thickly, looking around frantically. Their chest hurt and they tried their best to calm down.
'Calm down Akito, it- it's in the past. Pretty lady saved you a-and.. and y-you're ok.' They attempted to clear their mind but they couldn't get over how real the nightmares of their past felt. It was real of course, but they had truly felt like they were back, stuck in the past without any hope or help.
A panicked yell brought them out of their trance and Akito's eyes snapped to the woman who had claimed to know where the beautiful princess was. The female had let go of their wrist and was letting out pained wails, clawing at a familiar four legged creature who was digging its sharp nails into her face.
"Hey, you ok?" A kind voice piped up from their right.
They turned their head to look in the direction of where the voice came from. A male who looked to be around their age stood, a concerned look on his face. The boy had dark, messy hair and salmon pink eyes. His skin was pale and the area under his eyes was bruised, hinting at his lack of sleep. He wore a baggy grey shirt and dark, baggy trousers. His shoes were a similar colour to his trousers and Akito found themself unable to move as they stared into his eyes. They held such sincerity.. Such.. honesty and purity.
As they looked into his eyes they felt as if they could trust him, like he wouldn't ever do a thing to betray them. His pink eyes just shone with such ignorance it made them jealous in a way. Being clueless about the dark truths of the world is something Akito couldn't imagine. They were so used to being in the middle of the torment they hadn't ever imagined what being completely clueless about it all would be like.
The male waved a hand in front of their face, causing them to break out of their trance.
'Akito was caught staring!' Their face heated up in embarrassment and they looked off to the side.
"Are you alright? I heard some noise and saw that woman yelling at you so I decided to intervene." The dark haired male said. "What was she doing to you anyway?"
"A-Akito doesn't know.. They ran into the woman whilst looking for the princess. The lady said that she had seen Hime-sama and led Akito here. The lady got angry and started shouting and held Akito's wrist in a tight grip that hurt."
The boy frowned and his pink eyes moved to where Akito was gently rubbing their sore wrist. The place the woman had gripped harshly was bright pink and the teal eyed child could still feel the lingering pain of the woman's death grip.
"Hey, why don't you come with me, I'm sure we can find something to help you with that." He gestured at their wrist.
Akito thought for a moment, they had just been in a dangerous situation because they followed a woman. Did they really want to risk getting themselves in the same predicament again because they followed this boy?
'But.. he seems nice.' Akito thought, eyeing the boy. His eyes held no malice or ill intent, all they held was concern. Hesitantly, they nodded. The boy offered them his hand and Akito accepted it, letting him lead her.
They only made it a few steps from their previous spot before the male stopped and turned around.
"Koume, come." The four legged creature leapt off of the female it had previously been attacking and trotted up to them. It nuzzled its head against the dark haired boy's legs and purred in content. The creature's actions caused a fond smile to form on the pink eyed boy's face and Akito took a moment to study the familiar feline.
Its fur was mainly white with a few patches of peach, it had sharp blue eyes with dark slits as pupils. Around its neck it wore a plum coloured bandanna, the cat had an abnormally long tail and appeared to be extremely affectionate.
"Your cat.." Akito murmured. "Its the one from the alley.."
The boy looked at her, slightly confused, before fixing his pink eyes back on the feline who was still rubbing her head against his leg. He kneeled down, letting go of Akito's hand and petting the cat's head.
"Koume? Well I guess she does go out a lot on her own, didn't think she would just hang around alleyways though."
The cat was staring intensely at the boy reveling in his attention. Her purrs sounded her obvious enjoyment and the boy let out a silent breath of laughter.
"She's not particularly high maintenance but she despises it when she doesn't get attention for a while. She also hates the rain but then I suppose that's normal for cats." The dark haired male fell silent and let out a sigh as he stood up. Koume let out a soft meow, clearly annoyed that her owner had stopped petting her. She pawed at his trousers but gave up when he didn't pay her any mind. "Now, I believe I said that we would find you something for you wrist?"
Akito nodded in confirmation. The boy smiled before walking, Koume following obediently behind him. The teal eyed child moved after them, their gaze downcast.
"I'm Kenta by the way." Akito raised an eyebrow at the lack of last name but waved it off. They knew that most people had last names but who were they to judge? They never shared theirs.
"Akito." The male smiled at them before moving his gaze towards where his companion was.
"If you couldn't tell, this young ladies name is Koume." Said feline let out a meow, her tail swinging slightly to one side. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose to go with that woman? Haven't you ever heard of 'stranger-danger'?"
"S-she told Akito that she knew where Hime-sama is and led Akito into the alley, Akito isn't sure what would have happened if you didn't show up so thank you for helping Akito."
The young boy let out a laugh that rang pleasantly through the air. His eyes were crinkled shut and he looked more alive then he did before. Now that Akito noticed, the boy was sickly pale and terribly thin. His dark eyebags stood out against the white of his skin which made him look even worse. It wasn't that he was ugly, not at all, just that his appearance suggested that he hadn't been outside for a while and- judging by his clear lack of strength- that he had been bed bound.
"Have you been sick recently?" Akito couldn't help their childish curiosity, but when the boy's laughter immediately silenced and his mood plummeted, they wished they could take their words back. Even Koume let out a warning hiss and Akito stopped walking when they noticed that Kenta had paused.
There was a long moment of silence and the teal eyed child awkwardly looked around the alley they were in.
"Yes.." Their eyes snapped to his form. The answer was so quiet that they would have missed it if not for the stillness of their surroundings. "In fact, I've been ill for quite some time.."
Akito swallowed, the boy hadn't used past tense.
Koume let out a meow, looking up at the boy who smiled softly in response to her cries. He reached down and stroked her head.
"I'm fine though." He turned around to face Akito, a smile on his face. Although the child didn't know Kenta very well, they were still concerned and their worry didn't cease with his smile, in fact it only served to make them worry more. His beautiful eyes held no joy, instead they looked devoid of any emotions, like he wasn't present. His smile was tight and his whole expression seemed foreign on his young face.
They knew his words were a lie but chose not to say anything. It wasn't really any of their business, they had only met this boy a few minutes earlier. He did save them from what could have been a painful beating though, and Akito hoped that in the future they might become friends. Were they thinking too far ahead? They weren't really sure since they hadn't ever had any proper friends. The others were the closest thing they had to friends but then maybe that was simply because they were forced into the same horrific situation? Even before all the torture they hadn't socialised much with other people, the most interacting they did with other living beings was with their mother and Emi, the white cat.
They weren't sure what Hime-sama was to them, maybe she was a friend? They weren't fully sure but she was -as far as they could tell- much older then them and their mother had once told them that it was important to have friends your own age -not that you can't have friends much older or younger then you.
"Even if I wasn't fine, you don't have to worry! My big sister is the best, she knows a lot and she makes me lots of stuff that help me get better!" The boy's tone was happier then before and all traces of his previous sorrow had disappeared.
Koume had calmed down as well, her posture more relaxed and the hissing noise she had been making previously could no longer be heard. Kenta began walking again, the feline beside him. Akito followed them, gazing at them from behind.
"You.. have a sister?"
The dark haired boy turned his head to look over his shoulder at them. He had his soft smile back in place on his face as he looked at them with soft, tired eyes.
"Mhm! She's really great!" He grinned. "Do you have any siblings?"
Their mood immediately dampened and they swallowed, trying to get rid of the lump that had formed in their throat.
"No, I have a big family though."
"Oh?" He tilted his head slightly. "Lots of cousins?"
The teal eyed child nodded. "Something like that." Their gaze moved down to the cat walking next to Kenta. "My mother had a cat but Koume doesn't look much like her."
The male's eyes shined and sparkles seemed to pop up around him out of nowhere. "Really?" His grin had grown wider and Akito could tell that cats were something he adored. "What breed is she?"
They blinked. "Breed?"
Akito's expression displayed pure confusion and even a blind man could tell that they had no idea what Kenta was talking about.
"Y'know, different types of cats. Do you know what type of cat your mother has?" The pale male tried his best to explain to the clueless child, hoping that they understood what he was trying to say.
"Oh." The dark blonde haired child tried to think back but they couldn't remember much and most of their memories were hazy. "I-I don't remember.. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry. Do you at least remember what she looked like?" Kenta had realised that their mother's cat was most likely dead since they were speaking in past tense. He felt bad for trying to make conversation about an animal who was no longer in the land of the living that Akito had most likely loved.
"Her fur was white and quite long. Mama always complained about it getting tangled. She had blue eyes and a pink a nose."
"I bet she was a pain to groom." Kenta laughed.
Akito looked at him. "I think mama said that she groomed herself."
"Yeah, cats do that but if she ever got wet or if food ever got stuck in her fur I bet it would have been quite painful for her when someone brushed her." He looked down at his feline companion who was elegantly strolling next to him. "Koume has shorter fur so she doesn't really get knots. She can groom herself without much trouble so she doesn't really need baths. Of course, we do wash her every now and again since we weren't sure where she was going when she ventured outdoors. I'm glad we did, who would have thought that she spent her free time exploring alleyways?"
They continued chatting as they walked, Koume remaining quiet. It wasn't long until they reached their destination and Akito stared at the old, worn down building in front of them. It was clear that Kenta lived in the poorer part of the village, his house looked like it would collapse if someone inside sneezed. It was made out of wood and their really wasn't much else to say about it. The house was small and had filthy windows, the front door was hanging from the frame, its hinges broken. The wood that the building was made from was splintered and uneven.
"I know it's not much but big sis works hard to keep a roof over our heads." Kenta was looking at the house, his hands on his hips and a smile on his face. "Let's go inside and see if we can find something for you wrist!"
He entered the building, Koume racing in behind him. Akito lingered outside for a moment before entering the small home.
A/N: I really wanted to include a bit more but wasn't sure how to get to the bit that I wanted to end this chapter on and so I chose to end it here. I apologise for not updating any of my stories recently, I've been going through a lot and have been writing whenever I can, it's just taking a while.
This chapter defiantly felt easier to write and I'm very excited for the next few (spoiler alert: this mission is almost over!). I have fallen in love with Akito, Kenta and especially Koume. I am so excited for the future and I really hope that you guys are too!
Thank you so much for being so patient, I really appreciate the support!
Sorry for any mistakes!
Hope you enjoyed!