Kichiro stands with his belly slightly hanging over the strap of a pair of pink boxer shorts and with small, pink ankle socks clinging to his feet.

The pair look at each other in silence.

“What.”

“What.”

Both are frozen in confusion. Kichiro suddenly remembers what he’s wearing and slams the door shut as Misha starts laughing.

“Hey, shut up. What is going on here?…” Kichiro says from the other side of the door.

Misha, now reducing her laugh to a soft chuckle responds, “I have no idea. All I know is I want to get away from that ugly runt of a man who was being all creepy.”

Kichiro says sternly, “What has he done to you? Are you hurt?”

Misha in horror realises something. What had the man done to her? She suddenly began to feel horrible. She woke up half naked… in a bed…

She slides the door open hastily.

“Kichiro. Lets go.” She says with a frightened look etched on her face, as she dangles her hand out, expecting Kichiro to grab it.

Kichiro blushes but grabs her hand as they make their way through a dark corridor. Kichiro first and foremost needed something to cover himself up with because if they did escape, they would have trouble convincing people they’d been kidnapped looking as crazy as that. He checked each odd-looking room as he led Misha through the darkness. Each room was creepily identical to the last. He stopped when he heard a loud rumbling. A washing machine.  

The pair swing round the corner into the room where the washing machine sounded like it was coming from. They stop. Next to the washing machine sits a small, rugged boy with long black hair covering his face amidst his bony legs. The boy looks up. His face is sunken and bruised. His hair tiredly sways as he makes way for his icy blue eyes. He stares at the pair. His long, dirtied t-shirt seems to be his only clothing.

“Hello…” Kichiro carefully says, gripping Misha’s hand tighter. What had this kid been through?

The boy says nothing as he slowly turns to watch the washing machine spin. Misha lets go of Kichiro and approaches the boy. The boy sniffles. Misha places her hand on his shoulder, triggering him to quickly scurry back into the corner of the room.

“It’s ok. We won’t hurt you. We’re escaping, you wanna come?” Misha says with a bright smile on her face. The boy glances at Misha, before quickly looking back down.

Kichiro attempts to take control, “Misha, I don’t know maybe we should-“

“Look at him, he looks silly, doesn’t he? We can leave him behind if you want!” Misha says to the boy as she points at Kichiro.

The boy looks at Kichiro for a couple of seconds. He lets out a small giggle and smile as he looks back at Misha. He ponders for a few seconds.

CRASH!!

A loud slam of a door rackets throughout the mysterious building. The three startle. Kichiro quickly turns off the washing machine, opens it and pulls out a grey hoodie and pair of black and red basketball shorts that were way too big for him. Kichiro and Misha look at each other and nod. They had an idea.

Kichiro gets dressed as Misha ushers the boy to the corner of the room behind the door. Kichiro gently and silently closes the door to the laundry room and joins the boy behind it. The sound of a man walking softly becomes noticeable as the three glance at each other. The walking increases in sound and speed. Misha moves into the middle of the room and takes a deep breath. It continues to increase and continues to increase until…

The door of the laundry room slams open. It’s in complete darkness and silence. The man walks forward. He stops. He looks around for the light switch. He presses it. The room illuminates.

By the man’s feet is Misha on her knees, acting like a bench.

Kichiro, emerging from behind the door, pushes the man, tumbling him over Misha’s bridge-like trap.

He grunts as he falls face first onto the wooden floor.

The trap worked to perfection.

Kichiro kicks the man in the head with as much power as he can muster, but the man remains conscious. Kichiro kicks him again, and so does the little boy. Kichiro and the boy look at each other and both grin.

“Nice, Kid”, Kichiro says like a proud father.

The man, in pain, turns to look at Kichiro. He pulls a face of mixed confusion and anger. Ah. It was the man from the other day who was examining him.

“Hang on, you’re the little brat I bought the other day! Why aren’t you in your room? And you! You’re the bitch my brother was going to f**k!-“

Misha takes off her Louis Vuitton high heel and stabs the heel into the man’s eye, triggering a loud squeal. Kichiro puts his hands over the boys’ eyes. He didn’t have to see that. Misha kicks the man one last time before spitting on him as he winces and rolls around in pain, wailing out for help. She grabs a t-shirt out the washing machine and stuffs it in his mouth.

Misha hurls vulgars at the man as Kichiro desperately grabs her by her hand. But Misha’s not done. She flings her remaining high heel off toward the man on the floor before trying to rock the washing machine over onto the man. Ruthless, Kichiro thought as he dragged her out the room with the boy, closing the door behind them.

“Right, now let’s go.” The triplet rush towards a light which is creeping from behind a large door. Kichiro yanks it open and just like that, they are on the streets of an unknown city, with absolutely no plan.