King Make Believe

Chapter 26

Hirokazu

I sighed and watched as Miyoko walked up the hill and as she handed us each our meals, she sat down heavily. After devouring our dinner in a small matter of twenty minutes, Miyoko leant back and we all did the same.

Staring up at the finally clear night sky, two days before the storm was predicted to hit. I took this moment as if it would be the last time I would see the stars. "What's the plan Hiro?" Miyoko asked quietly, I heard the grass crackle slightly as she shifted her head, I felt her strangely coloured gaze on my face.

"I think, since we're wanted fugitives now, we should make our way discreetly over to Devil's Haven—we should be safe there." I said, I looked over at Miyoko, she grinned and nodded.

"Sounds like a fair enough place, they won't mind us while we plan a mass execution of a Squad either." She said this so aimlessly I kind of had to laugh.

Jae sat up and grinned down at me. "I haven't heard that sound in a while." She said, tapping me on the nose. I scrunched up my face and pulled my arms from underneath my head. I sat up and brushed my hair clean of grass.

"Miyoko," I began. I looked over, down the hill at the flickering lantern lights of the small village. "When you go down to the villages, give us a report." I said this quietly, as if none of us wanted to really talk business. It was fun mucking about like kids, but we weren't kids. Not anymore. 

Miyoko nodded. "Understood." I looked back up at the sky and felt the smallest of smiles creep onto the corner of my mouth.

"I won't go down without a fight."

The past three days have consisted of the same pattern. 

We walked at a reasonable pace—not in any hurry—and rest every now and then. Once we've walked a fair distance and have made our way to our village to hang out at for the night, Yatsu, Jae and I would all camp up overlooking the village and Miyoko would head down to grab us a bite to eat and check for any Vaccine members and news on their hunt for us. Once we'd eaten, we'd discuss what Miyoko would have to report and then we'd all sleep a small closed off area were we were less likely to be found. We'd wake up early and continue our travel. It continued like that. It was a very simple life style compared to how I used to lived, but it didn't both me at all.

Our third day travelling, Miyoko walked up the hill, no food apart from a loaf of bread in her hand. She split it up, ignoring our a questions as she sat and stared back down the hill she'd just ran up.

I gulped down the last of the bread and looked down the hill too, away from the clouded sky. Tomorrow it would rain, we could all smell it. "Miyoko, report." I said quietly.

She pushed down the last of her bread and gulped down the water we'd been sharing. Collected from a river and heated over a fire. We could only drink yesterday afternoon. "The Vaxxine, they're..." She trailed off, I looked over at her and watched as Jae stiffened.

"They're here, aren't they?" Jae asked angrily. She stood up, I stood with her. Jae's temper—when it showed itself—was a sight to behold.

She took one step to go down that hill and I grabbed her wrist, she looked back at me, her expression agonised. "Let me go." She said quietly.

I held tighter. "I'm not letting you go down there—"

"They destroyed my home, they killed my father—he was going to leave that night, to go and find a new start—and they burnt him to ashes." She said this, and once finished, her dark, burning gaze met mine. She was pissed.