HAVEN

The journey to the camp took longer than expected. Kain watched the sunset warily. He had experienced what it was like to be out in the slums after dark, and Rika had told him exceedingly frightening things that she experienced at the hands of lurking dangers after dark. It was safe to say that the slums were no place to let anyone's guard down, especially at night. Kain and Rika passed through a somewhat deserted street, save for a few watching eyes peering through shutters and blinds. Walking into an especially dilapidated building, they closed the door behind them. Once inside, Rika made sure to put cloth over the windows, and Kain slid a heavy filing cabinet behind the door. “Ughh, all that walking tired me out! Kain, fetch me some water.” With an annoyed look on his face, Kain responded, “Get it yourself!”. Kain then sat down on an old sofa and threw the backpack on the floor. Rika scrunched up her face and pouted, “You're so mean, Kain.” Walking over, she grabbed a bottle of water out of the backpack and sat down beside Kain. After taking a few drinks, she tilted her head back and sighed. “Now that we’re back…any ideas on how to fix your problem?” She tilted her head to look at Kain. “Since we started looking a couple of months ago, we haven’t even found the slightest clue on who you even are.” Kain looked down at his hands, clenching and un-clenching his fists. “Maybe…maybe we just need to look elsewhere” Kain clenched his jaw. He refused to believe the old him, the true “Kain” was just gone. He couldn’t accept that. “Where else? I know the slums are a big place, but I doubt it’s on the outskirts of town. I mean, what else can we do?” Rika closed her eyes while saying this, waving her hand in dismissal. Kain narrowed his eyes. “I thought you’d help me, not just give up halfway through.” Rika widened her eyes and held up her hands. “I never said we’re giving up, but I’m just saying if we never find anything it’s not the end of the world, ya know?” Kain felt anger at these words. She couldn’t understand what it was like to be incapable of remembering anything. She still knew herself, still lived her life. To Kain, he was just living a incomplete half-life, a broken entity residing in a body that wasn’t his. After time living like this, he had come to that conclusion. All he wanted was his old self back, he did not want Kain, but he wanted “Kain”. Swallowing his anger, he looked at Rika and offered a suggestion. “Rika, what if my answers aren’t in the slums, but what if the’re somewhere else. Somewhere like the capital.” Rika stared at Kain for a few seconds, then laughed. “Man, even if they are in ‘Mons, how would we even get in the capital? The entrance is armed to the teeth, we can’t just slip in there like some average enforcer’s station ‘round here.” Kain grew restless at these words. “Yeah, but we can-” “How about we think about it, yeah?” Rika interrupted. She reached over and tousled his hair, then stood up to head to a cot in the corner of the room. She then called, “I’m not shutting down the idea, but we need a plan. We can’t just waltz in there, y’know?” She threw off her cat and coat and lied down on the cot. Closing her eyes, she waved a dismissive hand at Kain. “Let’s continue this tomorrow, I’m beat. You can take the couch tonight, you carried the backpack after all. Now stop bothering me and head to sleep.” Kain just sighed in frustration. At least Rika didn’t just shoot down the idea, While he was still angry for getting blown off, Kain knew Rika was tired from today's scrounging. Kain took off his old jacket and threw it on the table. Lying down on the couch, he took in the surroundings of their room. While they hadn’t been in it for awhile, it was probably the best one they've found. Rika suggested moving around every week or so to avoid being the targets of robbers who might want to prey on them and steal some food or other valuables while they were away. The room they were in right now was especially ancient, probably a person of importance’s room due to all the commodities like a sofa, or a bathroom. In the other places they stayed, they would have to find a outhouse for their business, or sleep on the ground with nothing but their jackets to provide them comfort. It was truly a tough life Kain had woken up too, but he was thankful for the small things that presented themselves. While falling asleep, Kain just couldn’t wait for the impending conversation in the morning. The thought that something cluing himself into his past was exciting, in fact it was the same level of excitement that gave him the strength to claw his way out of the facility he woke up in so long ago. This feeling again gave him strength, and the strength gave him resolve. Staring at the ceiling, Kain whispered words of promise not to himself, but his true self–the self that was lost. “I will bring you back, whatever it takes.”

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That next morning, they discussed their plan. “So Kain, you're sure that ‘Mons might have answers about who you are? We need to be certain before we make any decisions. This is seriously gonna be hard to do.” They sat together on the old couch, eating breakfast out of some cans of food that they had stolen the day prior. Kain clenched his jaw and nodded. “It would take us years to search the entirety of the slums. Even you don’t know how big this place really is.” Rika looked thoughtfully and swallowed her food. “Yeah, guess you're right. But how are we gonna pull this off?” Kain scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. “Yeah…I didn’t quite think that far. But I am sure that the capital will have something on me. More recent census records, birth IDs, at least something more than what we could find here.” Rika thought for a moment and answered, “Yeah, you are right on that one. I’ve heard a buncha people talk about how super advanced they are up there. There's bound to be something at least related to you.” Rika paused for a moment to resume stuffing her face with food, and when done threw the can behind her. Then she continued, “Plus, it would be great to get out of this place. Wonder what it’s like to never watch your back.” Rika paused after that, clasping her hands together and looking down with a mournful expression. To break the silence, Kain began, “So we both want to go, right? It’s settled then!” Kain felt he was closer to his goal, and would not wait any longer. Finally, his ambition did not seem out of reach. Coming out of her stupor, Rika closed her eyes and sighed. “We don’t even have a plan on how to get close to ‘Mons yet, so slow your role, man.” Kain lost his smile with that, and in its place a frown appeared. Rika saw his expression and came to a conclusion. She did not want to resort to this option, but felt like she had no choice. Kain’s goal meant a lot to her, as he was the first person to even be with her without wanting something in return. Albeit he had amnesia, but she thought his character was sound. When shown the ways of the world, he could have just stolen from her while she was asleep and went off to pursue his ambition by himself. He did not do that. Instead, Kain stuck beside her and helped her, stayed with her, befriended her. The months that they spent together had seemed like some of the best in her life. For that reason, Rika would help Kain and bring him to the light, just like he had done for her. That was Rika’s conviction. Due to this conviction to help Kain, she resorted to her last option. Sticking up a finger and closing one eye, Rika declared, “I have an idea.” Kain looked at her with a shocked, then hopeful expression. After a deep breath, she continued, “Every year, the house of charity comes out to the border of the slums to ‘give the unfortunate a better chance’,” Rika rolled her eyes and threw up air quotes while saying that. “Basically what they do is they perform a Holy Selection.” Kain looked confused at that, so Rika explained. “Oh, a Holy Selection is where young children go to see if they are Virtue Born. If declared so, then they are taken under the wind of House Charity. That means they’re given a free ride into ‘Mons. Sadly, that’s where my info ends and the unknown begins.” Once finished, Rika leaned back into the armrest of the couch and looked straight at Kain. She then smiled and added more information to her explanation. “Here’s the kicker, this Holy Selection is special. Can you guess why, my ever so inquisitive friend?” After Rika’s humor met a blank expression, Rika puffed her cheeks and muttered something along the lines of “Boring”, she further explained, “Well, the reason why that selection is special is because it is targeted toward us unfortunate individuals in the slums that have missed our chance in the past to be selected, but rejoice! We’ve been given a gracious second chance by the very people who have looked over us in the first place. Ugh.” Rika leaned forward and made a gagging motion to emphasize her disgust. Kain’s face lit up. “So you're saying we could get in?” Rika leaned back on the armrest once more and closed her eyes in thought. “That’s only the first step of the plan. To get selected and taken into ‘Mons, you have to be Virtue Born. How're we gonna fake that?” Kain turned from Rika and stared off blankly. How were they going to fake something that isn’t just appearance, but ingrained in a person? Unless…they just took the place of people already selected. Kain stood up straight with this epiphany, and turned to face Rika. “What if instead of trying to be a Virtue Born, we take the place of already selected ones! That would work, right?” Rika thought for a moment. “Yeah, risky but I guess that’ll work.” “So when do we go?” Rika widened her eyes, then halfway closed them while holding out a hand in “halt” motion. “Slow your role, man. That Holy Selection ain’t for a while. Maybe a couple o’ months out? Anyway, we’re gonna be waiting for quite a bit.” To Kain, waiting didn’t matter. He was to excited that they might even get into the capital and uncover who he used to be. Rika then spoke up. “Well, if we’re gonna go we better start heading up there now.” Kain looked at Rika with a quizzical expression. Rika held her hands out, as if explaining something. “Well, the place where they hold that Holy Selection is way up closer to ‘Mons. It’ll take us maybe a month to even get close.” Kain looked shocked. “I didn’t even know that the slums were that big! We’ll get there in time, right?” Now Kain started to get worried. If he missed this opportunity, there would be no getting in the capital in the first place. That would mean he wouldn’t have the opportunity to find who he was, forever losing himself. He could not accept that. No, Kain would not accept that. “Rika.” Rika looked up at Kain, seeing a serious look on his face. “If it’s going to take that long, let’s go.” A pleading look came across Kain’s face. “I can’t afford to miss this chance. This may be the thing that can bring “Kain” back. Please, Rika.” Rika’s face softened. She just couldn’t see Kain like this, even if what they were trying to do is suicide. Resolve came onto Rika’s face, and she said, “Alright. I’ll be with you till the end.” A wide smile broke Kain’s face. “Yeah, I’ll be with you too.” Rika never noticed Kain’s lie.

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