New beginnings
As I lay there in a dark alley, I slowly caught my breath. It shouldn’t have been possible to run from him… my owner… who more or less let me go. He could have easily caught me and shredded me into pieces in an instant. Now I am a rogue. Most people here have never seen me, so hopefully, nobody will notice me. I stood up and walked slowly back to where I came from to make sure nobody was following me. Sure enough, nobody was there. I put on my hoodie and walked the streets. In case somebody noticed who I was, I didn’t want to cause a scene; it would be bad for both of us. I checked my pockets to see if I had any loose change, but to no avail, I had none. So I took Plan B and decided to steal. I sighed and went to the smallest convenience store I could see. The only clerk in here seemed to be a human. Technology was very advanced in our time, and I didn’t get to see how far the world had gotten since I was a slave until now. But looking around, it all seemed like casual stuff I had seen my master use…? I shook my head, ‘We’re not here to admire the possessions this store has,’ I whispered to myself, and got to work.
1 Week Before
“Toshiro!? Wake up!” Kaeda yells. I jump out of bed and quickly get dressed; I’m late, and Master Elric doesn’t like it when I’m late. I look around and notice that everyone else seems to have left already. “Why didn’t they wake me up?” I mutter to myself as I put on my worn-out shoes, ripped jeans, a decent shirt, and a coat big enough for me to sleep in at night. I look at Kaeda, a young girl roughly around my age. She’s a little dirty, but her long red hair covers part of her face. Behind it, you can see her bright blue eyes and amazing posture for a girl her age. “Let’s go,” she says with an annoyed expression on her face, seeing as I was checking her out when we’re already running late. We talk above a whisper about our plans to escape. “Tonight, we leave. I’ll get the key, and we’ll be free,” she says excitedly. “Sure, but first, let’s get our work done,” Toshiro exclaims. We split up, with her heading to the western ward where the masters’ living quarters were, and me going in the opposite direction.As I worked outside, I checked the guards’ schedule and saw that our friend Marlin was due to help us escape at 11 pm. Perfect. However, as I returned to work, I noticed people giving me weird stares and whispering to each other. I tried to shrug it off, but little did I know that I would soon regret it.
Three hours passed quickly, and I finished dinner for the slaves with the help of some unfamiliar faces. It wasn’t much, but we all ate quickly and took what we could. As I lay in my bed, I watched the reflection of the moon on the clock, knowing that it was time.
I got up slowly, making sure everyone else was asleep. I noticed that Kaede was gone, which was odd. I assumed she was waiting for me outside. I left the room and headed outside, only to see two guards and our master. On the floor, I saw Marlin tied up and unconscious, and Kaede tied but barely awake.
I screamed out Kaede’s name and ran towards her, but a guard knocked me back with force. The master spoke, giving me an impossible choice: leave and spare their lives, or die and watch them suffer. I felt my throat go dry as I tried to process the dilemma.
Kaede begged me to live and run for both of us, tears streaming down her face. I couldn’t think straight, but I knew I had to do something. The master threatened to kill us all if I didn’t decide soon.
In the midst of the chaos, Kaede fought back, but the guards subdued her and hit her until she lost consciousness. Overwhelmed by shock, I ran without looking back, not stopping until I was out of breath and in an unfamiliar alley. I put on my hoodie and sat against a wall, trying to comprehend what had just happened.
I cried for Kaede and worried about Marlin’s fate. Would they kill him too? Would the master chase after me? I should not have been able to escape from him so easily. What did that make me? A rogue? A friend killer? No, I’m a survivor, and I promised Kaede that I would keep going.
Despite the uncertainty, I soon drifted off to sleep, my thoughts consumed by Kaede.
Some time passed, and I woke up with a headache. As I looked around, I remembered what had happened. Kaede had died. I slowly got up, feeling the fatigue getting the better of me. I put my coat over my head, covering myself, and headed towards the end of the alley. Although it was an unfamiliar part of town, it was better to blend in with the busy crowd.
As I walked the streets, I felt the stares of people on my back. I stood out more with my coat than without it. My stomach grumbled, and I checked my pockets for loose change. Unfortunately, I had nothing. I had to steal to survive.
I stumbled upon a small convenience store that wasn’t too busy. I walked in, trying not to seem suspicious. As I looked around, all the technology seemed normal. It was stuff I had seen Master use before. I quickly remembered why I was there and headed to the back of the store. I had inside pockets in my coat, making it easy to put items in them. I grabbed a water bottle, crackers, and a few other small items, including a pocket knife.
As I walked towards the exit, the clerk looked at me and said, “Hey, are you going to pay for that stuff?” I panicked but acted calm, “Yeah, sorry sir, I forgot to.” As I got to the counter, I reached over and threatened him with my knife. “I’m sorry, sir, but I really need this, and now I’m going to need what you have in the register and what’s on you right now. I apologize.”
I didn’t want to do this, but he left me with no choice. He couldn’t call the cops since he had no phone. He quickly handed me the cash and begged me to leave. I grabbed the wallet, phone, and cash and ran out of the store. I quickly blended into the crowd, and nobody dared interfere. I was about half a mile away when I decided to see what he had given me. In his wallet, he had about 5,469 Silver and a picture of him and his family, two girls, and his wife. The phone was locked, and the cash from the register was roughly the same. I decided to take the Silver and throw the rest away in a nearby dumpster. I put the wallet with the cash in my pocket and continued down the street.
I went to a nearby inn and checked the prices per night. It was 400 Silver, but they all seemed to be around that price. I took it for the night, afraid of being caught by the old man I robbed. I then headed to another store, a small one that sold herbs and such. I stocked up on herbs that would help with hunger and wounds. As I left the store, I noticed a girl being picked on by some guys. I ran towards them with a knife ready in my hand, yelling, “Hey, get away from her!”
One of the guys looked at me and gave a small smirk, “What are you going to do about it?” he said as he slowly turned back around to face the girl. She was scared, and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t yell for the cops, or I would get arrested, and I couldn’t fight them. I would lose. Then, suddenly, it hit me. I looked at them, three in total. “What if I pay you? I’ll give you all the money I have on me, just leave her alone.”
They turned towards me
In a panic, I pulled out my wallet and threw the rest of my silver at the men’s faces before grabbing the girl’s hand and running away. We took a few quick turns to lose any potential pursuers and finally made it back to my inn to catch our breath. “Thank you,” the girl whispered barely above a whisper. It was then that I finally got a good look at her - she looked just like Kaede, but something was different. Her black hair didn’t cover her face, and her eyes were a bright green. Despite these differences, her figure was identical to Kaede’s. “I’m sorry, my name is Mikazuki,” she said. Her personality was a far cry from Kaede’s. “Oh, sorry, I’m Toshiro. Are you okay? Who were those men?” I asked, still lost in thought. “I don’t know them. They were just trying to hit on me,” she exclaimed while looking around the room. “Do you live here?” “Yeah, I’m staying here for a night before I plan to leave,” I replied. As she began to walk around the room, I noticed she had animal ears. “Are you a demi-human?” I asked in shock. She stuttered and replied softly, “Y-yes, I am. Sorry, I didn’t tell you sooner.” “It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” I reassured her. I had never seen a demi-human before, and despite looking my age, she revealed that she was only 15. We talked about where she came from, and it turns out she was in a similar situation as me, except she was going to be sold off. Glancing at the nightstand, I realized how late it was. “How long have we been talking?” I asked. “You can stay here for the night. I only have one bed, so you can have it,” I offered. I grabbed a pillow from the bed and went to sleep in the corner of the room. “Are you sure?” she asked. “Yeah, don’t worry about it,” I replied, letting my fatigue wash over me. Before falling asleep, I whispered, “Goodnight, Kaede.”
