Hayato, alone in a hotel in Beppu, deep in the night:

"I wonder where he went. Che. He could have shared a room with me if he's so cheap. He looks like he needs friends. Oh, sure, he's cool and all - 'Ore wa Tatara da!' - but he looks really lonely. We could be friends - right?"

Silence, and then the sound of sheets rustling.

"K'soooo, why is this bed so lumpy?! I'll never fall asleep!"

.........

Quietly: "I wonder if I should ask him. I mean, he looks like someone who's seen people die before. He probably lost all his family a long time ago. Maybe he'd know..."

The sound of someone getting out of bed. Soft footfalls pace the length of the room.

"Aaaaah, I can't ask him! He'll just think I'm a whuss. I'm not strong like him..."

The soft thud of a body dropping to the ground.

"Okaa-chan..."

*Plop*. *Plop*. *Plop*. The sound of water hitting the dusty floor.

"Heh, I haven't grown up at all, have I, okaa-chan? Still talking to myself, still a baby, still weak."

The sound of quiet crying.

Softly: "What should I do, okaa-chan? I'm all alone. I want to go home. I want to be there with you, making you smile. ... I just wanted a peaceful life. Now I don't have anything. I don't have anything at all. What am I supposed to do now? Where am I supposed to go?"

With anguish: "How can I go on? How can I go on when I'm all alone?!!"

Sobs, heart-wrenching ones that tear the soul apart as they come out. The sounds of a young boy in torment, a boy who has lost his dear mother and is now alone and adrift in the world.

Then silence, and the sound of someone climbing into bed.

"Tatara... hates the Red Army. Maybe the Red King betrayed him like Shido betrayed me. He's alone like me - but he's strong. Is that because he has a purpose? To defeat the Red King?"

The sounds of someone tossing in bed.

"Okaa-chan... I'll avenge you. And everyone else who died that night. I'll make Shido pay for what he did. I'll help Tatara build a better place. Then I'll live a peaceful life."

Only soft breathing now.

"I'll become strong. I'll defeat Shido and build a better country, okaa-chan. So no one will suffer like you. Then I'll have my quiet life... somewhere... and I'll always keep you in my heart."

........

"_Always_."

Softly, nearing sleep: "I... absolutely... promise......."

And a boy sleeps now, dreaming of his mother and green fields of peace.

To Be Continued.

- by Rebecca