The Prey of the Vale

2

The next morning Daisuke was yet again the last one to wake up. He groaned loudly, stretching his small body. "What a night" he yawned while getting up into a sitting position. He scanned the room to see everyone was gone. "Oh" was all he could say as he felt a pit in his stomach. He felt miserable, no one had cared enough to wake him up to go eat breakfast. He jumped off of his bed and landed on the ground with a thud. 'It doesn't matter it doesn't matter it doesn't matter' is what Daisuke tried to say to convince himself it wasn't a big deal. He opened the room door and walked towards the mess hall.

"Ah, Daisuke! You woke up pretty late today my boy. No matter I made sure to save some food for you come eat." A lady Daisuke has never seen greeted him today. It was like this every day, someone new came in to take care of everyone.

"I'm not hungry, but thank you anyway." Daisuke was disappointed once more. He bowed his head a little and walked out without another word. He roamed the hallways, running his hand on the wall. Many historical paintings were hung on the walls for a reason Daisuke did not know. He stopped in front of one who he assumed was Abraham Lincoln.

"He was assassinated you know?" Again the same voice from last night, this time it made him flinch a bit. "Haru! Why do you keep doing that?" Daisuke whipped his head to face Katou. "Keep doing what?" He acted clueless, despite Daisuke's irritated face. "Who cares if he was assassinated it's not like it affects me." Daisuke crossed his arms and turned away from Katou. "Oh, I guess you're right. It's just cool to know about the deaths of others." Katou stood next to Daisuke at this point. He stared at the painting with a dull expression.

"Let's go outside Daisuke. It's not good to be inside all day." Katou turned once again to Daisuke. "Oh, what do you know Haru?" He sarcastically said. "I know a lot more than you do Kambe now let's go" He turned to walk away, however, Daisuke did not follow him. He stood there while Katou stopped and stared back. "Oh, I see. Are you..." Daisuke nodded his head shamefully. "Makes sense why you have been weird these last few days. Take your time I'm always here." Katou proceeded to walk once more.

Time flew by and Daisuke grew restless. He was itching to run away, feeling himself shake from the annoyance he was experiencing. He let himself sit next to a wall on the far side of the 'sleep' room. "Haru don't you think we should run away?" He anxiously scratched his arms. "Runaway? Why it's not so bad here." Katou bent down and placed his hands on Daisuke's arms, gripping them tightly. "Listen Kambe Daisuke, I know how bad you want to know the truth but I can't let you go around in the vale all by yourself." His grip tightens around Daisuke's arms. "Then come with me Haru. Both of us can leave this place tonight. I have a-" Daisuke was cut off by a director or the night shift staff, a name given to them by the boys there. "Boys it's time for bed." he had heard their conversation but didn't care whether they ran or not. "Look, I won't say anything about what I've heard from you two, but I must warn you. It's not a good world out there and you should stay where it's safe. If you do go, remember what I told you today, and don't forget." The staff snapped his fingers and pointed to the beds. That was their cue to leave and so they did.

Once lights were out and the staff was out, Daisuke acted almost immediately. "Hey Whiskey it's time." He loudly whispered to Katou. "Shut up you're being loud as hell." He whispered back in a softer tone. Daisuke gave a thumbs up and began climbing down his bed slowly. He slowly stepped onto the floor and let go of his bed frame. "Rea-" Daisuke's mouth was covered by Katou's hand, his finger over his own mouth.
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Silent nods were exchanged, marking an agreement, a deal not to be broken. That was just the beginning of their long journey to come.