2 THE RUNAWAY

The plan was formulated in my mind during one of the lessons my mother was giving me. Incidentally, she forgot to keep my sister away and she got a view of my pitiful state. I raised my eyes to look at her, just to see a horrified face.

he had tears in her eyes and our mother didn't even bother to console her pitiful daughter. he just shooed her away and continued with my training. She brought unique sets of equipment with her to beat me up to an almost near-death state, and then gave me a healing portion in small quantities,

For a non-awakened, that small amount was like an elixir, healing the whole body. She would then leave me lying down on the floor, recuperating on my own as she left for another mission.

I came out and for some reason went to my sister's room to check on her. I found her sitting beside the bed crying while clutching her legs tight. I approached her and held her in my arms, close to my chest.

She looked up at my face, and I tried my best to smile. My smile seemed to have eased her worry a bit and she began to calm down. The scene had horrified the child. She soon dozed off in my arms while clutching me tight, as if she was afraid to lose me.

"I will not let this happen to you." It was the first time my instincts told me that I had to protect my sister, or what awaits her is the same fate as mine. I carried her to the bed, lay her down, and sat beside her while slowly caressing her head.

I had a new motivation for the first time in my life. I wanted to become stronger than anyone, just to protect her from the devil that birthed us. I thought that if I could train myself hard enough, she would someday be satisfied with the result and leave me alone.

But the reality stated otherwise. No matter what I did, I was powerful against her strength. She was never satisfied with my achievements and kept harassing me to near death.

That was when I decided that the only way to remain alive was to escape. I began to explore other options, ways to safely escape from the clutches of that bitch, and finally, a plan was formulated. I managed to learn the perfect path to escape.

Recent televised news stated that Japan was going to send a huge amount of its refugees to various zones, trying to repopulate the cities and structure the economy. The refugee camps were too small for a huge inflow like this.

"This is my way to freedom." I decided to carry it out.

................................................

"Brother, we will be late. Let's leave fast." My sister dragged me out of the school into the shabby neighborhood we lived in. This was a refugee settlement that was formed by the government to re-establish a living place for the refugees.

We were fortunate enough to have managed to pass the regulation and get a place to live here. It was only when I came out of my hell, did I understand how difficult life was. Even though we did have shelter, we weren't able to earn food or clothing.

Fortunately for us, we came across a small family of three siblings who decided to become friends with me and my sister and helped us settle down. They were refugees from Korea who had managed to land in japan.

Fortunately for us, the eldest was a kind man and knew our language. The first few days were difficult, since we weren't familiar with the lifestyle. My body was strong because of the continuous harassment that witch gave me, and I have learned a lot of fighting styles from her training. I decided to put that to use and took a job at a nearby construction.

The government began to reestablish the city properly, and soon enough huge investments were made since a lot of awakened were being discovered from the refugee population. The once thought wasteland suddenly turned into a treasure trove and everyone wanted a piece of it.

A refugee training institute was soon established to find out talents hidden from the refugee population. Many organizations decided to risk their assets and invested in these regions, and it paid off. Hunters with incredible talents began to emerge, and the condition of the neighborhood began to improve.

Fortunately, all five of us got enlisted as students of the academy and began training under the instructors provided by the top organization. Life turned pretty normal after the first few months and we trained our very best while working for late hours during the night at construction and local stores, restaurants, and other shops.

I took responsibility for myself and my sister. Although she went through all those hardships, she kept smiling brightly whenever she looked at me.

"I will never let you cry," I promised myself to give her a proper environment to grow in. I decided to work to the very end of my bones and collect money to better our conditions. Unfortunately, manual labor doesn't pay much in the current world. years went by I continued to work multiple jobs, but reality soon struck me.

The only way to secure the future of my sister was to become a hunter after my awakening and I decided to put extra hours in my training. I worked myself up during the night and trained like hell in both the academy and my home.

Five days from now was the awakening ceremony that would determine our fates.

.........................................

In a certain office in central japan-

"We have managed to locate them. They are residing in the northern region, City 21. Inform the madame immediately." One of the men spoke through his communication device.

The man's expression changed immediately as he rushed out of his office towards the upper floors. He soon came in front of a large door.

"Captain of the 19th scout team, Lee Junshok asks to see the madame president." A man named Lee Junshok spoke up.

"Enter." A feminine yet intimidating voice spoke.

The man entered, just to come across face to face with a woman watching the skyline through her window. The man bowed to her and said with respect.

'We have managed to locate the targets. They are currently residing in area 7 of city 21 in the northern region."

"Have the force stay alert and watch their movements. Get every single detail about them." The man bowed and left, while the women kept facing the skyline. She then l looked at the sky and said.

I finally found you, Leon." It was none other than Lily Williams