A Rouge Dog

They all got on the train, Iris, Ivy and Sam had rooms since Iris paid for the expensive tickets however Kenji stayed in the commoners seating area. The ride to Rasmeru would take 3 days and they would arrive in the afternoon.

Ivy hadn't been on a train since she had left her home, she sat on her train bed and looked out the window, unsure how long they would be gone. Everyone's been pretty quiet, I guess it's since Kenji and Iris were arguing.

Knock, knock. Ivy got off her bed and walked to the door, the room was small, it had a bed, night stand and a small coat hanger. Ivy opened the door and Sam was standing on the other side.

"Hey." Sam spoke softly.

"Hi." Ivy said shyly as she smiled at Sam.

"Do you want to help me find Kenji? He's in on of the common carts." Sam questioned Ivy.

"Yeah, I think it's best if we check up on him." Ivy left the room closing the door behind her.

"What cart do you think he's in?" Sam questioned Ivy again.

"I dunno. Once we got on the train he went to do his own thing." Ivy spoke as they began to walk.

As Sam and Ivy entered the first commoners' cart, there were mostly foreigners in the cart, woman and young children. The sick and old, Ivy nervously hid behind Sam as they walked down the carts. Once they reached the end of the cart the two entered the next one. People stared at them and the way they were dressed, some giving dirty looks and others warm smiles.

Ivy overheard soft crying and turned to her right, she saw a little boy crying to his mother.

"Mommy! Why did we leave daddy? Where are we going." The boy sobbed to his mother.

"I'm sorry baby, but daddy had to stay behind, he was drafted." The mother hugged her son.

Ivy turned to the boy and his mother. "Being drafted is awful, but I'm sure your daddy will be fine." Ivy spoke as she crouched down next to the boy and his mother. The mother smiled at Ivy.

"Thank you miss, are you familiar with anyone you know being drafted?" The mother asked Ivy.

"Oh, no. I'm an orphan so I've never really knew anyone over eighteen." Ivy chuckled awkwardly.

As Ivy stood back up to keep looking for Kenji. Ivy turned to look at Sam but he was gone. "Sam?" Ivy quickly walked down the cart and opened the door for the next one.

"Ivy look out!" Sam called out from across the cart. Ivy looked forward and let out a scream as a big dog ran at her. Bam!

The dog ran directly into Ivy's legs knocking her off her feet and onto the floor. Sam quickly ran over to Ivy reaching his hand out to help her up.

"Are you okay?" Sam chuckled a little as Ivy shakily got up.

"Yeah, I'm fine just a bit startled is all." Ivy smiled as she brushed the dirt off her skirt. As Ivy looked back up she saw the dog running towards her again at full speed.

"Ahhh!" Ivy let out a high-pitched scream as she jumped into Sam's arms. Sam stumbled a little but held on to Ivy making sure not to drop her.

The dog stopped and sat down in front of Ivy and Sam as it began to wag its tail. Sam softly placed Ivy back on the ground before turning his attention to the dog.

Sam crouched down to the dog's level and extended his hand for it to sniff. The dog cautiously approached, cautiously sniffed his hand, and then wagged its tail in approval. Sam gently scratched behind its ears, giving her a warm and friendly smile.

"Hey there, boy. You're a good pup, aren't you?" Sam spoke softly as the dog leaned into his hand, enjoying the attention. Sam's calm and soothing demeanor seemed to put the dog at ease, and before long, they were bounding around together, getting to know each other and forming a bond of trust.

"Look Ivy, he's nothing to be scared of!" Sam looked at Ivy smiling as she stood nervously in a corner.

"Are you sure?" Ivy spoke with a weary tone. The dog began to lick Sam as it ran round in circles. Sam reached out his hand and took Ivy's pulling her close.

"Yeah, I'm sure, now come on!" Ivy's eyes widened as she let out a small gasp. The dog ran around Ivy in circles and began to lick her face.

"Ah! Ew stop it!" Ivy said while laughing with Sam.

The two spent the rest of the day playing with the dog, forgetting that they were looking for Kenji at all.

The next day was quiet, I stayed in my room most of the day just resting. Eventually, I went to see the dog again, Sam was already playing with it. We played for a while before I went to see Kenji, he was asleep on the seat of the train. I had never seen him sleep before, he looked pretty, with his long eyelashes and white hair. His hair matched the soft snow outside that only got worse the closer we got to Rasmeru.

The train had gotten much more crowded the closer we got to Rasmeru, I had to squeeze through the people to reach Kenji. He was lucky to even find a seat to rest in, I sat next to him for awhile and just thought to myself.

I can't believe I ended up here, what if I hadn't met them… or better yet what if I had never met him. I was so curious to know what was going on in his head. He always looked numb all the time but when he slept, he looked so peaceful, so welcoming.

As if no matter what happened he could stay like that, it made me begin to wonder why he was doing all this. Sure, I knew the reason, it was for his friend that he had lost, but there had to be something else. Some deeper meaning, I mean people die or get murdered every day, so why was this so important.

Though we had all been living together for a while we all really knew nothing about him. The others had gotten used to his coldness and they just said it was his personality, but I'm not that dumb. I can just see it in his eyes, when he's not wearing contacts only a blind person wouldn't be able to notice that he's going through so much inside, and that maybe this was all a cry for help.

If I could help him I would, but how could I help someone else when I can hardly help myself.

Ivy leaned her head on Kenji and closed her eyes falling asleep on him. Kenji hadn't slept in days, but he still felt the warmth of Ivy when she leaned on him. In the end they are just people, regardless of their looks, personality or past, they are the same.

On the last day Iris knocked on Ivy's door, Ivy looked out the window before getting up to answer it.

"Hey, how was your sleep?" Iris smiled at Ivy.

"It was good, why did you come here?" Ivy rubbed the tiredness from her eyes as she spoke.

"Well since we are arriving in a few hours I thought we should all group together." Iris responded.

"I guess that is a smart idea. I'll go find Kenji; I already know what cart he's in." Ivy turned back into her room to get dressed as Iris left to find Sam.

Once Ivy had gotten dressed and grabbed her briefcase, she left for the commoner's carts to look for Kenji. The snow has gotten really heavy, I'm surprised the train is still running in these conditions. Ivy stood still for a moment looking out the window.

The carts were really full now, all the seats taken and people standing everywhere. Ivy had to squeeze through people and push to make her way around into the cart that Kenji had been in.

Once Ivy reached the cart Kenji was in she was surprised to see he wasn't sitting where she had last seen him. Kenji! Where did you go!! Ugh! Ivy turned her head to keep looking, as she squeezed through people, she felt someone grab her wrist.

"Kenji!" Ivy turned her head to see a creepy looking older man. He smiled at her, he had missing teeth, dirty clothing and hair and he reeked of liquor.

"You're such a pretty young lady." The man pulled Ivy closer as he tried to grab her.

"Let go! Kenji! Kenji!" Ivy's eyes watered as fear consumed her, no one was helping her on this crowded train. People just turned a blind eye. Ivy knew what was going to happen if she didn't get away, but there was nothing she could do, the man was too strong.

"Ahhh!" The man let out a high-pitched scream. Ivy looked up to see Kenji giving the old man a right hook to the face. The man fell to the floor letting Ivy go and covering his bloody nose as he looked up at Kenji frightened, Kenji looked at the old man face full of disgust.

Ivy was stilly shaky, she held on to Kenji's arm in fear. Kenji noticed Ivy's fear, he moved his arm up and held onto her hand instead. Kenji looked around noticing that, that old man wasn't the only creep on the train. Kenji lifted his cloak and put it around Ivy covering both her and him.

"The train should be arriving soon, lets get near the door." Kenji spoke softly to Ivy as they walked near the train door waiting for the train to arrive. They could see Rasmeru from the train window, it was covered with snow. Rasmaru's buildings were built 6-feet off the ground since there was so much snow all year around.

The train soon arrived at the station, there were guards standing outside at the station with guns. "Kenji… why are they standing there like that." Ivy spoke nervously. "Don't worry, they're here to escort us to the kingdom. Rasmeru is very strict about who enters and exits the kingdom." Kenji responded as the doors of the train opened. Kenji and Ivy stepped out, the guards stopped them.

"Kenji!" Ivy shrieked. "Calm down, just do what they say." Kenji spoke as he wrapped his arm around Ivy's shoulders. "We must tell you to remove your cloak." One of the guards spoke. Kenji nodded and took off his cloak. The guards patted Kenji and Ivy down before letting them go into the group of the rest of the passengers.

"Ivy if we get separated look for Iris." Kenji spoke as the guards brought them to the side as they checked the other passengers for weapons or drugs. "We won't get separated. I won't allow it." Ivy was adamant about staying by Kenji's side. Kenji smiled softly, he was flattered that Ivy wanted to stay by his side, she seemed to be growing on him.

Kenji and Ivy waited for around an hour, just standing in the freezing cold. The guards finally finished searching the cart full of people. They began to lead the group just outside of Rasmerus walls.

There was a snowstorm making it hard for everyone to see, they couldn't even see the kingdom until they got closer. Ivy and Kenji had finally reached the slums of Rasmeru, it was a lot more violent than the ones in Seevi. People were fighting, starting fires, and stealing; everyone had a mean look on their face.

"You have to be a lot more cautious here then you were back at Seevi." Kenji spoke as him and Ivy walked through the deep snow. "I'm always cautious, but I can see what you mean. These people look crazy. And how come you talk like you've been here before? Have you?" Ivy questioned curiously about Kenji. "No, I had some friends who were from here. They were poor so they used to talk about how bad it was, and it seems to have only gotten worse." Kenji reminisced about his conversations with Iven and Kasy, they were both from Rasmeru and spoke about it a lot.

Ivy looked at Kenji surprised. "What now?" Kenji looked annoyed. "You had friends?" Ivy questioned suspiciously. "Huh?! Of course I had friends." Kenji responded quickly; his eyes wide in shock that Ivy thought he was friendless.

"Kenji wait up!" Kenji and Ivy turned around to see Iris and Sam running after them with their briefcases and bags. "Finally, you guys showed up! We were waiting." Ivy placed her hands on her hips as she spoke. Her nose and ears were red from the cold as well as Kenji's meanwhile, Sam and Iris wore coats, scarves, earmuffs and gloves. "So where can we stay do you know?" Iris looked towards Kenji. "Me and Ivy were heading to a hotel right now, see." Kenji pointed towards and old rundown brick building. There were people sitting outside of it sniffing coke on a dumpster. On the other side of the building there was a woman, she had a full face of makeup with a bold red lipstick. She wore a tight red dress, fishnets a long coat and a shapka.

Iris, Sam and Ivy all looked uncomfortable. "You know I have the money to afford a nicer place, right?" Iris spoke as she looked at the hotel up and down. "This is the only hotel here, unless you want to sleep on the streets." Kenji looked towards Iris. Iris sighed and began to walk towards the hotel. Ivy tugged on Kenji's cloak; Kenji turned to face Ivy. "What's that lady doing wearing a dress like that in this weather?" Ivy was shocked to see the woman, and even more surprised that she wasn't freezing to death. "She's a whore." Kenji spoke bluntly, Iris shouted. "Kenji! Language." Kenji looked annoyed at Iris, his expression blank but his eyebrows furrowed a bit.

"She is a whore. From a whorehouse… a prostitute." Iris eyes sharpened in anger as Kenji spoke, she clenched her fists. The four of them walked up the stairs and entered the hotel. There was a buff older man with a large beard at the front desk. Iris walked up to the desk the back of her neck sweaty as she grew nervous. "H-hello, may I get two rooms for tonight."

"Only one room left." The man hardly moved as he spoke, his large and thick eyebrows almost covered his eyes. There was a scar from his lip that crossed up towards his forehead. Iris just nodded in fear and slowly lifted her hand with 75 monas to pay with. The man looked up at Iris and shook his head softly. He grabbed the monas and the turned around to reach for a key behind him.

The man walked out from behind the old dispainted front desk. He lead the ground down a dark hallway with on flickering light, flies swarmed the light. The hallway was quiet, the red wallpaper was peeling off and the carpets of the hallway felt moist under their shoes.

The man stopped in front of a door with a number 7 on it. "This is your room, there is no breakfast, and the water shuts off at 9pm." Iris followed behind Kenji as he entered the room taking the key from the man. The man with the thick eyebrows left back towards the front desk.

Kenji took out his flip phone and checked the time it was already 10:40pm so the water had already shut off. "Waters already been shut off." Ivy sighed when she heard this, she had wanted to shower.

The room was dimly lit and dirty. It had green wallpaper that was also starting to peal off. The room had a bed and a couch and was styled like a grandmothers house with old fashion furniture.

Ivy yawned as she crawled into the bed and got ready to sleep, the mattress was stiff and dirty but it was better than sleeping outside. Iris also got into the bed with Ivy, meanwhile Sam laid down on the couch.

Soon everyone but Kenji had fallen asleep, Kenji stood at the one window in the room, he looked outside at the slums lost in thought. This is the place Kasy and Iven called home for so many years, when I first met them they even had thick accents. Iven lost his accent first but you could still slightly hear it in Kasy's voice when she spoke. I wonder where Kasy is now, and how her and her dad are doing. If only she saw me now she would be so ashamed.

Kenji wanted to smoke but didn't like smoking inside so he just decided not to do it. Kenji sat down on the floor next to the bed. Iris look pretty as she slept. Kenji closed his eyes and leaned his head back slowly dozing off into a deep sleep.

When Kenji woke up the next morning he was the first up. Kenji decided to take this opportunity to try and get into the city.

He stood up and put the key next to Iris on the bed before leaving the room. Kenji walked back down the old hallway and into the front lobby. The man was in the same spot waiting for new customers. Kenji gave him a small nod before leaving the building.

The moment Kenji opened the hotel doors he was hit with a cold wind that made him shiver. Kenji didn't like that cold but he had no other choice. Kenji looked around but with the thick snow it was hard to see anything.

Kenji walked around blindly for a while looking for the gate to enter the city. He saw a group of older ladies who spoke about finally returning home to the city and decided to follow them. The group of old ladies walked through the thick snow as if it were normal.

After walking for a while they finally reached a line. Kenji could finally see in front of him, he saw the games of the city and tall walls that prevented anyone from entering. The line moved slowly, after some time had passed Kenji finally made it to the front of the line.

The guards standing at the gate and gave Kenji a dirty look. Kenji reached in his pocket and pulled out his fake ID. "We aren't taking tourist at the moment, you need to leave." Kenji was surprised. "How do I get into the city?" One guard scoffed, "You don't, unless that is you have a residential card."

Kenji was going to argue but decided to drop it due to the line of people behind him who were trying to get home. He stepped out of the line and began to walk away from the gate thinking of how to enter the city.

"Kenji! Kenji!" Kenji heard a familiar voice and looked up to see Iris walking through the thick snow. The wind was so strong it seemed like it was going to blow her away. Kenji walked closer to Iris and held her still. "What are you doing out here?" Kenji seemed a bit surprised.

"I cam looking for you! I woke up and you were gone." Iris held Kenji's cold hands. Kenji nodded as he understood, Iris spoke up again. "Any luck getting into the city?" Kenji then shook his head before speaking. "No, we need a residential card to go in." "Where would we get one?" Iris questioned. "I'm not 100% sure but I might have an idea." Kenji responded as he turned to face some flashing blue and pink lights in the distance.

Iris and Kenji walked towards the lights and found themselves in a red-light district. The lights had been coming from a strip club, next to the club was a bar. Kenji walked towards the bar as Iris followed behind closely. The bar's was old and rundown like all the other buildings in the area.

"I want you to wait outside." Kenji spoke to Iris as he stood at the door of the bar. "What? No way!" Iris tried to argue but Kenji just leaned forward and kissed her quickly. "Wait here." His face was as cold as always, not a single reaction. Iris however grew red and her body grew hot. She nodded in silence as Kenji entered the bar.

People stared at him as they had never seen Kenji before, for a moment they were suspicious but seeing his cold demeanor they continued what they were doing without a worry. Kenji walked straight up to the bar and sat down on a stool.

The bar was surprisingly nice on the inside, with smooth jazz playing. The bartender walked up to Kenji and spoke. "What would ya like?" The woman behind the bar was tall with long red hair tied back into a bun.

"Do you know where I can get residential passes to enter into the city." Kenji was straight to the point, if this lady didn't know anything her would just leave. The woman smiled suspiciously, "Trying to sneak into the city huh? Well sorry but I don't give out information that easily." Kenji frowned. "How much do you want." Kenji was willing to give up a lot of money for this.

The woman laughed, "You're stubborn, aren't you? Okay!" She clapped her hands together as she continued to speak. "For every shot you drink I will tell you a piece of information." Kenji agreed and ordered a shot.

Only once Kenji began to drink did the woman speak again. "Alright, the strip club next door, it has an underground fight club. Illegal of course, they sell drugs and bet on fights." The woman kept speaking as she poured Kenji some more shots.

"Once you go to the club you need two things. One you need to bring a pretty girl and two, you need to know the secret passcode." The bartender kept pouring drinks. "The passcode is the word Czar, you must find the man wearing the red suit and tell him you want to see the Czar. Once you do, he will determine if you are allowed to enter. He will then open a door for you that leads down into the basement, from there look for the graffiti of a pig with a crown on it."

By the time the bartender finished speaking, Kenji was already 11 shots in and could hardly think straight. Kenji nodded and stood up, the bartender waved bye as Kenji stumbled towards the exit of the bar. As soon as he left he fell onto the snow. "Kenji!? Kenji are you alright?!" Kenji's eyes looked over as Iris as he slowly fell asleep.