Chapter five: shadows of the past

The next day, Juro woke up very early. He couldn't sleep well. Knowing how much his death would impact the world, he wondered late into the night whether he should die to prevent a war or live and try to stop a world war from breaking out.

Either way, he couldn't remain in the prison. Regardless of whatever the world thinks of him now, he needed to find his uncle's killer and redeem himself. Though whom he wanted the redemption from wasn't quite clear.

At nine a.m., the cells were opened and the inmates trooped into the courtyard. Juro caught sight of the man that wanted to fight with him the previous day and quickly looked away before he sparked another conflict. He wasn't hungry so he just went over to the bench where he was supposed to meet Samura. No one was there.

Frowning, he looked around for him. He craned his neck to look over the swarming heads of the other prisoners and spotted the old, grey head on the last bench near the gate to the wardens' sleeping quarters. Confused, he walked over to the bench and sat down beside Samura.

"Uh, hey. I thought we were supposed to meet on the same bench as yesterday."

Samura replied without looking at him, "We were. But I've decided to leave immediately. We're breaking out today."

Juro faced him. "What?!" he whispered. "You can't just say it like that. You could have been heard."

Samura shrugged, "It doesn't matter. A lot of people plan escapes everytime here. It's a test to the prison's credibility as an inescapable holding. The wardens just ignores any talk on escapes. They have utmost confidence in their prison's ability to be just that—a prison built to keep monsters in and the civilians safe."

Juro suddenly got a brain spark. "You said 'to keep monsters in,' right? I still don't know you that well, but do you include yourself in that? You were right yesterday, you know. I am very immature. Trusting you that easily was very stupid of me. You also said my uncle was an enemy. You could be trying to use me as another scapegoat for your crimes after we break out."

Samura chuckled. "I was right, huh? I know I was. You do mature in an excellent rate. I won't beg you to trust me, but I can tell you something. You won't spend another night in this prison, not if I can help it."

Juro kept quiet. His distrust of Samura was increasing fast. True, he trusted him enough to sit with him yesterday. But a night of tossing, turning, and thinking had warned him against blind trust. Samura told him how big of a conflict-preventer he is and Juro had underestimated how big it was.

Anyone with contact with Juro can manipulate a situation regarding the Demon Kingdom and a third party with Juro as a catalytic factor. It was possible that Samura was trying to take advantage of that. Samura was also thinking along the same lines and he said: "I know it will be hard to trust me. But, believe me, if I wanted to deceive you, you won't be able to differentiate between truth and falsehood. Like you said yourself, I could have lied that I was a part of your mother's distant family and you would have believed me. But to prove that I am not lying, I will tell you more about me. Be warned; what I'm about to tell you will make you see me, your uncle, and your father in different light. It will even make you more familiar with the war than anyone ever was because you will realize how connected you are to the main players."

Juro scowled. What was Samura talking about? How is he connected to a war that had ended before he was even born? Curiosity overtook his skepticism and hesitation.

He then asked, "What are you talking about?"

Samura's face darkened. "It was one of my worst times and one of the world's best times. Possibly the best time of peace in the world was after the recent war."