Kyo had been working at the Honda household for a week, and couldn't believe what he was seeing. Tohru regularly helped the slaves with household tasks, and Shigure never wore a whip, and both of them went out of their way to be kind to their slaves. But Kyo wouldn't talk. Something deep inside his brain, a lesson learned in blood and pain told him not to speak, not to trust humans, for they were all plotting his eventual demise.

Shigure, for lack of a better name, had begun calling him Sasori, and that just slowly fueled Kyo's rage. How dare this man try to convince him through kind words and a smile that everything Kyo knew as fact, definite, unyielding fact. He did not speak, though Tohru had been asking him to speak, begging him as if she actually cared. There was no way she would make him speak, and she probably didn't care that much anyway.

At the moment, Kyo was chopping wood. The methodical labor was soothing, no thinking involved. The wood was not plotting to destroy him, and the ax would not suddenly turn against him without any thought behind the matter. Kyo fell into a trance, where all that mattered was the wood, the ax and every diminishing pile of logs to be chopped. When he finished, he looked at the sky, silently sad that his private sanctuary had been ruined by such a trivial matter. The sky was a scarlet glory.

He had started on the task at dawn.

This was just another trick, another ploy of his 'masters' to try to get him to speak, to admit weakness. He would not do it. He had missed breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and his hard labor had taken up much of his energy. It would have to last him until tomorrow's breakfast. He would not ask for food, and admit that he was hungry.

Kyo could not fall asleep that night. Every time sleep was about to overtake him, his stomach would send him another twinge of pain, reminding him of his missed meals. When dawn finally lit the sky with its pale pinks and oranges, he struggled out of bed, and stumbled down to the kitchen to receive his orders for the day.

"Sasori, I would like you to clean upper rooms of the house." Tohru smiled at him and moved on to the next slave, a child named Kisa that was saved from an abusive master. As if any masters were better or worse. You are still owned by someone else, not your own person, denied of the most basic rights.

He headed up to the top of the house, and lost himself in cleaning and exploring the unused upper floors of the house. He settled into another trance, this one of furniture polish and dusting cloths, but very similar. When he glanced outside, he saw a boy with black and white hair standing in the forest. He was undoubtedly another slave; no one had hair like that and was human. Was he free? Kyo had certainly never seen him around the house.

The boy was looking straight at him. Kyo glared back. The boy's shoulders shook, as if in laughter, and he sped away from the house.

Kyo continued working. The next time he looked outside, coming out from one of the inner rooms, the sky was another shade of bloody scarlet. Great, he had missed another three meals, that couldn't be healthy. Kyo couldn't bring himself to care.

That night Kyo couldn't even think of sleeping with all of the thoughts in his head. He thought of Tohru's deceiving smile, the other slave, the fake name, Shigure, Hatori, Ayame, everything. It all just spun around faster and faster. He shook his head, as if that would shake the thoughts right out of his head. He tried vainly to push the thoughts of those evil, plotting people out of his head, and focused on the escaped slave.

The boy had black and white hair, and looked as if he knew where he was and what he was doing. That was madness. If Kyo was the one escaped, he would run away as fast as he could and never, ever look back. The boy had looked right at him, so he had good eyesight.

Kyo rolled over onto his shoulder. These thoughts were getting him nowhere, and he needed at the rest he could get for the coming day. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, sleep always eluded his grasp, slipping through his fingers as the last moment.

Kyo stood up, and began walking through the house. Just as he neared the front door, it opened a hair's width. All of his muscles locked and he stood as still as a statue. The door slowly opened, gliding soundlessly on oiled hinges.

The boy from before stood in front of Kyo, reveled by the fully opened door, and the shining light of a gibbous moon. He gestured to Kyo, urging him to come closer. Kyo consented from sheer curiosity, and the boy shoved him out of the open door.

Kyo's eyes widened. He was going to get out that easily? It seemed unreal, impossible. But the boy grabbed his arm and pulled him down the street. The boy thrust him into an alleyway and through a shadowed door.

Then he spoke, "My name's Hatsuharu. That's all you need to know about me." Kyo was silent. "I'm getting you out of this town buddy, so as soon as I fix you up, head for the hills, alright?' Kyo nodded. The boy's speech was hurried but not unkind. "Didn't expect to find you that easy, but we all take luck where we can get it."

Hatsuharu thrust a cloth bag at Kyo. "Now scat."

Kyo didn't need any more encouragement. He ran out of the room, and through the streets of the town, unconsciously following the same route that he was brought here on. He was nearing the end of the town, he could see the tree tops, freedom was nearly there-.

A cold voice rang out in the darkness. "Where are you going boy? Shouldn't you be with your master?" Kyo shook his head. "Why not?" The voice was dangerous, the epitome of the reason Kyo did not trust humans.

Again, Kyo shook his head. The man was not pleased. "Come here, boy." Kyo sauntered over, being as arrogant on the outside as he was not inside. This man gave him a bad feeling, like a very nasty odor covered by a sweet fragrance. The man grabbed the front of Kyo's shirt, and dragged him into what was presumably the man's house.

There was no sound except the crack of a whip and when that ended, a sinister, humorless chuckle. It was over.

A/N: Hope you liked it. Cookies to anyone who can guess what happened and who was 'the man'. Toodles

Lilah: THERE IS NOTHING PERVERTED ABOUT MY STORY!