Pain - BokuAka

Chapter 3

Akaashi shivered from lying on the cold ground all night. He was still tied up and everything hurt. It wasn't easy to open his eyes, but the guard kicking him in his stomach didn't give him any other choice.

"It's time" he snickered and pushed Akaashi forward.

His stomach growled from being hungry as the guard kept pushing him in directions. He got thrown on a chair in a large dining room. One of his hands got freed so he could eat a tiny piece of bread and drink some water. As soon as he finished his breakfast he got tied up again. The guard brought him outside. Akaashi was able to spot his brother with some other children of his age before the door closed behind him. He didn't know where he was going or what was about to happen.

The guard brought him to the middle of the camp. All the guards seem to be there as the other prisoners got leaded to benches. Akaashi thought that maybe someone would tell them what was going to happen with them, but to his surprise he got placed on the stage. His wings got locked into some sort of wooden thing, another one got placed around his neck and wrists. When he looked into the crowd of around 50 people, he saw the scared eyes of his little brother. 

"We're all here to show you what happens if you try to escape" a soldier spoke loud and amused. "After seeing this I'm sure you will listen to us."

Akaashi felt how eight strong hands grabbed his wings to hold them in place. His heart started to beat really fast and his breathing wasn't steady at all as soon as he realized what was going to happen. He wanted to scream for mercy but before he could do anything else the strongest pain he had ever felt shot through his body. He heard two loud thuds and the crowd gasped and screamed, but one of those screams was extremely loud. It took him a couple seconds before Akaashi realized that it was himself. He felt blood stream down his back and legs. He couldn't see anything because of the tears in his eyes. His screams were cut off as the threw up from the horrendous pain he felt. 

His wings were cut off. 

The guard laughed and the crowd was as quiet as mice. Akaashi screamed for his life, praying to whoever to 'please let it be over'. But nothing helped. He felt like he was going to die right there right now. He choked on a mix between sobs, screams and vomit. The wooden thing was removed from his hands and neck as he fell on his knees on the ground. He could hear everyone leave the crowd as his hands found their way to his back. All he could feel was blood and two tiny little pieces of bone where his wings were supposed to be. Akaashi looked up at the sky and prayed again before everything went black.

---

Akaashi opened his eyes and looked into the sky. Was he dead? The weather was beautiful.. The sky was the prettiest shade of blue he had ever seen and there were hardly any clouds. But the sound of a carriage made him realize that he was still alive. He couldn't move. He felt bandages all around his torso and his back was still hurting a lot. He moved his head to the right and saw three boys of his age. 

The first one was very short. He had spiked brown hair with one piece in the front that he had bleached. His wings were small and dark but looked stronger than Akaashi his wings had ever done. 

The second one was very tall. He clearly came from Nekoma, judged by the grey cat like ears that matched his hair. His eyes were a very deep shade of green. He grinned when he saw Akaashi looking at him.

The third one was a little short as well. He had light brown hair with bangs that were cut sharply to the side. His wings were large and strong like an eagle. He clearly came from Shiratorizawa, known for their strong and huge wings. 

"You're finally awake. I thought they took a dead one with us" the shortest of the three snickered a little sadly and offered Akaashi his hand to pull him up in a sitting position. 

Akaashi closed his eyes and groaned because of the pain in his back. After a couple seconds it went down again and he opened his eyes to see the three boys staring at him curiously. 

"How long have I been out?"

"Two days in this cart, but I don't know how long you have been unconscious before we met you." the guy from Nekoma answered. 

"What happened to your wings?" the Shiratorizawa guy leaned closer to inspect his bare torso and ran a finger over the bandages. 

"They got cut off. I tried to escape but they caught me just before I could reach the wall. I don't know what happened after that." Akaashi looked around but realized that they were alone in this forest. "Are there any other carriages with us?"

The three guys shook their heads. The two guards sitting in the front of the carriage were talking loudly about the Aoba Johsai kingdom. Apparently Oikawa had been inventing new laws and increased the taxes. 

"What's your name?" The smallest guy broke the silence between them. 

"Akaashi. Akaashi Keiji" Akaashi answered and coughed as he realized how dry is throat was. He probably hadn't drank anything in days. 

"I'm Nishinoya Yû. That tall guy is Lev Haiba and the other one is Shirabu Kenjirou."