The Hidden Jewel

Yuuri: On the Streets

He didn't know where he was going. He only knew that he had to keep going. He might have been just a lowly servant, but that didn't matter to the people rioting outside the palace. Anyone coming from within the palace was an enemy, no matter who they were. Yuuri pushed all thoughts from his mind. He couldn't afford to think of anything else. Keep running, one foot in front of the other, his arms swinging by his sides as his breath clouded in front of him. Three blocks passed behind him. Five, six. He could still hear the angry shouts of the crowded people behind him. He stopped and hid around behind a smaller building. His breath clouded in front of him and his chest ached for breath. His hand fell out and landed on the wall of the building, holding himself up, his other hand clutching a small sack, the only things he had dared stop to take before fleeing the palace.

He stood up and looked around. The street seemed vacant of all life with the moonlight casting an eerie glow over the city. With no one in sight, Yuuri fell against the rough wall and he stared at the snow surrounding his worn shoes.

Where would he go now? When the mobs had grown, everyone inside had panicked. By the time they began to breach the gates and swarm inside, everyone scattered. He'd been left alone to fend for himself. He looked inside the small burlap sack to take inventory of all he had managed to procure from the kitchen. Half a dozen bread rolls, some matches, a bit of cheese and two apples. He frowned at the contents. It wasn't that much at all. It had seemed a lot more when he was hurrying to leave the palace. He wondered how long this could last him. He tied the small sack off and looked back around the building. With no one in sight, he put his back to the palace and began walking. He didn't know where he was going. He only knew that he had to keep going. He'd been in a situation not far off from this before, in this same city believe it or not. He knew how to get around and he knew what he would need to do to survive. For right now he only focused on finding a sheltered place to sleep. He would worry about everything else tomorrow morning.

...

For the first time in years, Yuuri woke up shivering. He tried pulling his coat tighter around himself, but he thought that if he managed that feat, he would cut off his blood circulation somewhere along his body. He forced himself up, his shoulders bunched up and his sleeves pulled over his hands. He felt his chest shake as he reached for the sack beside him. He reached inside the bag and pulled out a roll of bread that had gone hard.

Dang it. How had he not remembered the cold? Everything would be cold and hard by now. Though, he didn't think it was quite cold enough to freeze. Although his jacket clothing were stiff as well as his limbs, there was no frost covering them or the ground he laid on. He knew he wouldn't be so lucky for long, though. He was lucky it hadn't been very cold last night. He might not be as lucky tonight. However, he knew very well luck had nothing to do with it. Ever since he had first come to Russia with his father, the times had never been on their side. He'd quickly found out that there was no such thing as luck.

Yuuri held the bread roll in his hands and breathed on it, trying to return some warmth to it. He clenched his teeth and pulled the bread into pieces through some struggling. He put a piece in his mouth, letting his saliva soften the bread until he could chew and swallow it. He broke off some of the cheese and ate that, too. When he finished, he tied his sack back off and got to his feet.

He'd taken shelter on the river bank. Even with the cold blowing off the river, the bridge had sheltered him from the wind's bite. It wouldn't be enough forever though.

The sun peaked over the buildings as Yuuri walked through the streets. He was only on the main streets before the city woke up. As more people awoke and came onto the streets, Yuuri made his way to the side streets. There may not have been as many people to beg from, but he felt as if the main streets weren't safe. He didn't want to attract any attention to himself.

By the time the sun had decsended from the sky, Yuuri's legs felt as if they would collapse beneath him. He hadn't stopped all day even though he didn't have the slightest idea what he was looking for. He'd made meals of two bread rolls and an apple and he was thirsty. The other thing he had entirely forgotten about was water. You could last a lot longer without food than you could without water, that's what his father had told him when they had been on the streets.

He traveled the bacl streets of the city. They were called streets, though no one used them nearly as often. They were more like backways were garbage and other things were collected. Most houses still had lights on at this time, but it wouldn't be long before they started to go out.

One house he came to was just as beat up as the others. Outside the back door were two barrels. One held trash as Yuuri had expected, but the other held something else that caught his attention. He leaned over and saw his reflection in the barrel.

"A water catcher," he marveled to himself. He hadn't thought of that before. He wondered what they did when the temperatures dipped below freezing. He dipped his hand into the water, shivers running up his arm as he caused ripples to spread over the surface. He cupped his hand and lifted the water to his lips. He cold water both froze and refreshed his throat. He thought it must have froze his vocal chords, because when a voice suddenly demanded to knew what he was doing, he didn't have an answer.

He jumped back when he looked up to see a boy standing at the now open door. He looked a bit younger than himself, his bangs covering his left eye. He frowned at Yuuri with a glare that melted the ice in his throat.

"I was thirsty. I wasn't going to take anymore, just a sip."

The boy didn't say anything at first. Yuuri watched his eyes look over him, his gaze falling to the sack in his hand. "Are you on the streets?" he said after what seemed like more than enough silence.

Yuuri gave a swift nod of his head without saying anything.

The boy's tense shoulders dropped slightly and his glare dissipated. He glanced behind himself for a moment and turned back to Yuuri. "Come inside. It's supposed to be cold tonight, you'll freeze."

Yuuri let out a breath of relief and followed the boy inside. He closed the door once they had both entered and looked to Yuuri. He held out his hand to him with a neutral expression. "My name is Yuri Plisetsky."

Yuuri shook his hand and kept eye-contact with him. Yuri's eyebrows rose as he introduced himself. "Nice to meet you, Yuri. My name is Yuuri Katsuki."