The escape

Now on an unusually cold night, with peace and calmness surrounding the settlement, copied by the fog that blinded the sight outside the room where the kids were caged, a small rat crawled through the bamboo bars. The kids were afraid at first but Rōjū liked it a bit, so he fed it a bit of the bread that was given to him before, the rat hungrily ate the food and cutely snuggled up to Rōjū, who was taken aback by this sudden action. The kid carefully petted the rat, thinking of a name to give him. The rat was a male by the way, it was checked when one of the kids tried to take it to eat it and Rōjū mercilessly broke their teeth to avoid it. Because of this instance though, he thought it would be appropriate to name him "Hanonai", which meant "toothless". The kids did not know it but this rat was the key to get out, and guards never paid enough attention to notice it.

Hanonai was a very mischievous rat. He liked to bother the other kids by crawling inside their torn clothes and running around everyone, he probably also did it for the attention. Rōjū was not bothered by this, as a matter of fact he was keen on the idea of having a friendly animal as a companion. Kohana on the other hand was not fond with having a rat around the cage all the time, he was afraid that Hanonai might bite them while they slept. All this aside, the rat chose to stay so no one really could have a say on the matter. On top, Rōjū liked the rat so who would even think of complaining?

Morning came, Rōjū rubbed his eyes slightly to live another day. Still sleepy he shook Kohana slightly, who was naturally resting on Rōjū's lap. Kohana stretched his own arms as far as he could and lazily opened the eyes that weighed so much they could have been made out of metal. Still adjusting their sights they stumbled around trying to stand up and regain the balance a long sleep stole from them. But this tiredness was quickly thrown away when they rose their heads to a sight that would nail in their minds. In this exact moment one second felt like a minute and their eyes were forced to stare at the space surrounding them. The day had just began and their sleepy minds barely could process what was going on, but fate forced them to. A never ending sea of blood kept escaping from the lifeless bodies decorating the floor, painting the grey rocks with themselves. Silence, nothing else filled the room except for silence, red and themselves. An invisible arrow impaled through their heads and broke all thought process of reality. They stood there dumbfounded, and all they were hearing was static, static of their own brains trying to keep themselves working. It was no use, nothing came in or out except static. The cage had been forced open though they didn't wonder why, and not only that but the command of getting out from the cage did not even occur to them. It was almost like chains with thorns were holding them in place, tightly surrounding every muscle on their bodies... They could hear their hearts so loudly it was as though they were right next to their ears. But they felt them constantly hitting the inside of their chests, trying to break out. That was when it hit them, an obvious realization followed by fear. They had to leave.

Rōjū and Kohana directed their eyes at the broken bamboo bars, and Rōjū noticed very small bite marks on the top and bottom of them. "Hanonai!" he yelled looking for his pet, "Hanonai!!" he yelled louder this time. The rat heard his call meaning the little training he received paid off, bringing an empty smile on Rōjū's face. However, this smile quickly turned upside down and his eyes widened when he noticed that his yelling also attracted the guards. He quickly crouched down ordering Kohana "Up!". Kohana got on top of him with hurry, wrapping his legs around Rōjū's waist and his arms around Rōjū's neck. Seeing this one of the guards hurried his pace and yelled at the others "You said you killed them all you useless pieces of shit!! After this they won't be the only ones who will get beheaded!", and the other guards shivered starting to run much faster. Rōjū was risking it all waiting for his pet, although it was obvious that once he was sure Hanonai was safe he would sprint out of there. One of his legs was stretched behind him and the other pressed hard against the ground, he put one of his hands on the floor and the other behind him ready to grab the little animal. He fully focused his senses on his hand, the moment he felt his friend he would be ready to dash towards the fence gate he heard open and close so many times. The yelling of the guards turned into mere noise, the rattling of their armor was barely heard and the ground-shacking steps they made were covered by the steady breathing Rōjū maintained.

Then he felt it, the little rat hopped on. Barely a second passed by when Rōjū lifted himself and his companions to begin his sprint. Wind quickly punched their faces stronger every time they took a step towards the fence gate and the voices of the guards became fainter the more steps were taken, but the ground was still shaking, meaning they wouldn't stop following them. All the adrenaline made those few seconds feel longer, but despite that they still reached the fence in no time. However they didn't get to where they hoped, no gate leading to the outside of the camp, no dreamy view of the green fields with soft breeze washing up against the hairy grass. They only saw a small square of fences filled to the brim with sheep. Suddenly the yelling caught their attention, it was too loud for comfort and both kids panicked. Kohana softly and harmlessly hit the top of Rōjū's head trying to bring his attention and pointed towards the sheep. Rōjū, confused, jumped the fence and got in silently, his bare feet against the rocky floor. Kohana got off and crouched, signaling for Rōjū to do the same.

An agonizing pressure was being felt while waiting for their hunters, although the sheep alleviated some of it by masking their heavy breathing audible only to them. Not a moment after they successfully hid did a loud, horrific sound of rattling armor came near the fence. "Well?! Where are they?!" Yelled one while kicking angrily at the ground, making the escapees wince. "W-We don't know sir! I-I saw them head this way that's-" A sharp, short sound of metal scraping against something could be heard followed by a loud thump made by a black and red hairy ball falling on the ground, rolling towards them. Rōjū covered Kohana's eyes while frighteningly staring at the head which was staring at him back. "Well you fucking rats? GO GET THEM!" More rattling trembles were heard becoming fainter by the second, and just when Rōjū was about to peek his head out one guard quietly whispered. "It's safe now, you can leave." It was a familiar gentle voice. Rōjū peeked and saw this scared guard looking around "Come on, the exit is that way" the guard said slightly louder, but quiet enough to not be heard, while extending his arm to point somewhere. Rōjū looked back and forth before nodding, getting a grasp of his intentions. He carefully moved through the sea of sheep, then hopped above the other side of the fence starting to run in the pointed direction. The guard gave one more gentle smile while his eyes started to fill with saddened tears "Sorry I can't accompany you" he whispered before another scraping sound was heard behind him.

The two kids and their pet ran through the unguarded gate or that was what they thought, unaware that there was a gatekeeper keeping guard. Making full use of this chance they did not look back, which left them with both, a sense of security and a sense of being in danger. The gatekeeper that had seen them escaping rang a bell that was on top of a wooden pole and informed all the guards of the escapees' current location.

The runaway kids had already made it to the start of the forest, for Kohana this forest seemed more like a dense and large void, lacking any type of lighting. For Rōjū, on the other hand, this forest was a regular forest. However, it brought him memories of the family he once had. He missed them, and until now he didn't realize just how much it affected him. A sudden wave of pain went through his chest and although he looked to check, there was nothing in the chest itself. This new pain he was feeling started to eat him from the inside, slowly consuming what he had inside. Almost like a reflection, the void Kohana saw in the forest, Rōjū felt inside of him. A flash of forced memories impaled right through his head, forming a painful headache. Like an undesired torture the many shades of red he saw that last day hit his void-black eyes. He curled up in pain and sadness, shaking his head while covering his ears. Since he wasn't getting a hold of himself Kohana had to step up and repeatedly call out to him, but he was gone right now, and even though Kohana tried to do something about it the painful memories he so hard suppressed now consumed him and forced him into deep slumber. He felt Kohana being taken from his back, before feeling that a hand grabbed him, pulling him back into reality. He pulled his eyelids open and looked around, seeing a figure try its best to run into the forest and away from the soldiers, all while smelling a sweet calming aroma that makes him sleepy, but he goes on before finally getting dragged into a wooden building, by now his mind barely able to keep itself alert, before finally he fills himself being thrown into a trance, floating in the void with comfort and feeling his body beginning to weigh more and more until he falls somewhere else.