A picture perfect sunset was blanketed out by the smoke of the tall smokestacks on top of the tall buildings. On the streets below, a young teen boy was currently running for his life with two loaves of bread tightly clutched in his arms. “Thief! Stop Thief!” 

“Just give it up already!” The young teen boy with black hair and blue eyes yelled as he ran through the busy city streets. 

His name was Sora, and this was a daily event for him. As someone who lived as a dreg of society with his only family member, his little sister. He had no choice but to resort to stealing. No one was willing to hire a little beggar boy who was unable to shower and was always covered in dirt. But one thing was for sure, he would never let his baby sister go hungry no matter what he had to do. There were even days he would not eat himself only because he was only able to get enough food to feed his sister. To Sora, his little sister was his only reason for living. As long as he could keep her healthy and hopefully find her a good man to take care of her in the future, he would be happy as long as she could eventually escape the slums in which they lived.

It was not like Sora liked living this life. He had no other choice. In order to survive and fend for his sister, he had to learn to steal, fight, and sometimes…kill… He was not proud of anything he had done, but as long as he could give his sister hope for a better future, he threw away his pride, his morals, and everything that came with it out the window to make ends meet.

Luckily in the slums where everyone lived, an unspoken rule was formed about kids. They were not to be touched. It was very rare for anyone to do anything that would harm any of the children of the slums. But this did not mean they got any help. They were left to live or die by their own devices. If they could not adapt and learn how to survive, they would perish, and their names would be lost in time. 

This did not mean such things did not happen every once and a while. Sometimes people would get jobs to hoard up kids for slavery. During those times, you can only hope you are lucky enough not to be caught. 

Sora turned right and then left, heading down an alley before slipping into a space that only someone of his size or smaller could fit through. As he came out the other side, he could hear the cursing behind him. With a victorious smile on his face, he made his way towards the slums to his makeshift hut with two loaves of bread in hand. 

The slums were nothing more than huts pushed up against each other made of scrap wood, cloth, and whatever metal they could find. There was no sewerage system or toilets to speak of, not even a place to throw trash. The streets were filled with sewage and trash because this was the only place to throw it beside your own living space. Toilets were nothing more than a can, a hole in the ground, or even the floor. So to say the smell of the slums was bad was an understatement. You would need to stay here for a few weeks before actually getting “used” to the smell. 

Sora walked right up to a small hut made of old wood and thick cloth and pushed the cloth door aside. “Ai, I’m home. Are you hungry?” 

“Brother!” Ai, Sora’s little sister only nine years of age, popped out from under a pile of boxes and ran over to Sora, hugging his waist.

Sora patted the little girl's head. She had a small white barret in her hair, holding her bangs back. She wore it every day. It was something Sora had bought with much difficulty. It was one of the few things he was able to buy her. “You must have been hiding under the cardboard for a while.”

“Just for a little while when people came by. But they did not enter.” Ai replied.

Her words made Sora frown. “Ai, from now on, hide and stay hidden unless you hear my voice.” 

Sora had a feeling it was that time again. People wanting to snatch up kids to sell off. Normally this was done by the bigger gangs, people that Sora desperately tried to stay away from. “Here, eat one of these. Save the other for tomorrow. Just snack on it while you are hiding. I promise I will not be out for long tomorrow.”

He hated having to leave his sister alone like this, but if he did not go out, he would miss a chance to get food for them. Tomorrow was when the government actually went out of its way to try to help the people in the slums. He already had his meal ticket and planned to use it for his sister so she could have a hot meal for once. Just thinking of her beaming smile when she ate the hot meal made him smile. Just knowing she was getting something nutritious for once was well worth it. 

As the day turned to night, Sora settled his sister down next to him on the cardboard bed. He told her a made up tale of mages and wizards who could cast mystical spells until she fell into a sound sleep. Sora was still worried about leaving his sister alone the next day, but he figured if he was quick, he could make it back before anything happened.

The reason he did not bring her along was because he was afraid of others trying to covet her. As a girl, she would sell off nicely. So if he were to bring her out of the slums where she was the safest, he could easily be surrounded, and from there, the rest is self explanatory. He knew this because he had almost lost his sister once when he was younger, and since then, he never brought her out again. 

Sora looked at his sister, who was cuddled up next to him. The smears of dirt on her face and messy hair showed just how little he could do for her. He reached over with his hand and gently tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear as he whispered:  “Ai, your big brother will bring you something good tomorrow.”