By 4:50 A.M., the prisoners had already been dragged into the frozen fields outside, the sky still a steel-grey sheet. Kurai, Anna, Novva, and Kenzo knelt in half-frozen soil, fingers trembling as they pushed seed after seed into the earth. Frost crusted the rows. A bitter wind sliced through their prison uniforms.
Kurai noticed it. The guard. The way his eyes lingered on Novva. Hungry. Possessive. Disgusting.
"I... I'm scared," Novva murmured, her voice barely audible above the wind.
"Scared?" Kurai asked, without turning.
"Today might be my turn..." she said, staring off into the endless fields.
Kenzo's voice cut in, low and urgent. "Don't ask. It's not something she should have to say out loud."
Kurai looked over, now understanding. His jaw clenched. He turned back to the soil.
Without warning, he bit down on his own tongue, muffling the cry, and slammed his hand against a nearby rock. With one brutal motion, he dragged his hand along its edge, severing the fingers from his left hand, all but the thumb. Blood sprayed the snow.
He screamed, loud enough to shake the fields.
The leering guard rushed over. "What the hell did you do?!"
"I-I was planting and I slipped!" Kurai gasped through the pain, his face twisted in agony. "I need a break... please..."
The guard responded with a punch to the face. "You don't get breaks, dumbass. You want special treatment? Come. Let's see what else you're good for, fingerless."
He grabbed Kurai by the collar and dragged him across the field.
They stopped behind a shed, away from sight.
The crying stopped. Kurai straightened slowly. His eyes narrowed.
"I saw the way you looked at Novva," he said coldly.
The guard scowled. "The fuck does that have to do with-"
"It has everything to do with me." Kurai stepped forward.
"You disagreeable little shit, if you talk again I'll-"
"You already hurt me once," Kurai interrupted, raising his mangled hand. "You did the same thing to someone I knew. I came back to take my revenge."
The guard tried to punch, but Kurai blocked it with his wounded hand.
"H-how are you... what is this..." the guard backed up, panicked.
"You're not a monster," Kurai said. "You're a coward who only preys on the powerless."
A strange purple light shimmered faintly in Kurai's eyes.
The man begged. "P-please, I can help you. I'll get you out, I swear... just please... don't..."
Kurai struck him in the gut. He collapsed, sobbing. Kurai flipped him over and stepped on his neck.
"You'll never be king of anything. Remember that."
Black screen
Kurai stood in the blood, slowly putting his pants back up. He looked down at the ruined guard, then spat and walked away.
Back at the farm, Kurai dragged his feet, blood still dripping from his hand. Kenzo looked up, startled.
"What happened to you?"
Kurai didn't meet his eyes. "He beat me. The moment we were alone, he started hitting me."
Novva ran to him. She hugged him tightly, crying into his chest.
"You shouldn't have done that... thank you... thank you..."
"You don't need to thank me. I don't need that," Kurai muttered, his voice hollow.
"But I do," she whispered. "You hurt yourself for me..."
Kurai didn't answer. He just turned back to the soil.
The prisoners were slowly finishing up the day's work. The clouds above had thickened into a bruised grey, and a cold drizzle settled over the open fields. Guards, already impatient from the weather, barked orders more harshly than usual.
Anna shivered beside Kurai, her frail body soaked through the ragged uniform. Her hands were raw from the earth.
"You're going to freeze like that," Kurai said, tossing a glance at her without fully turning.
Anna hugged her arms around herself and gave a small laugh through chattering teeth. "Wouldn't be the worst way to go."
Kurai exhaled slowly, then nodded toward an old wooden shed near the back fence. "There. We'll pretend to check the tools."
They slipped away between rows of muddy vegetables, unnoticed. The moment they stepped under the shed's roof, the rain picked up. Fat droplets pelted the wood above them in a constant rhythm.
Anna leaned against the wall, trying to rub warmth back into her arms. Kurai stood nearby, silent, watching the rain.
"Thank you," she said suddenly.
"For what?"
"For not being like the others. For not staring at me like I'm already broken."
Kurai didn't answer right away. The silence hung between them, not awkward, just real.
"You're not broken," he said finally. "You're... surviving. That takes strength."
Anna looked at him, eyes wide, like she didn't believe he'd just said that. Then she laughed, short and breathy.
"Coming from you, that means something. You barely talk."
Kurai shrugged. "Words are cheap. I only say what's necessary."
A gust of wind sent a sheet of rain sideways into the shed. Anna flinched as a drop hit her cheek. Kurai instinctively stepped forward, closer to her.
He froze.
Anna looked up, only inches from his face now. Her lips parted slightly, but not in fear, just wonder.
"You always look like you want to disappear," she whispered. "But you don't. You stay. You fight."
"I don't fight for people," Kurai said coldly, though his voice trembled just a bit. "I fight so I don't disappear."
They stood there, close but not touching, the space between them charged. Anna's breath slowed. She didn't push closer, didn't pull away. She just stayed.
"You don't have to say anything," she said softly. "Just... don't leave yet."