In the forest of the reservation of the Pale Hand mercenaries, two people are sitting side by side right in front of a beautiful lake, with the beautiful night sky above them.
Both had swollen, red eyes. But deep in their eyes, there was a sense of peace in them.
It's been 10 minutes since they stopped crying.
Sam was embarrassed but also felt like he was saved.
Zola was also embarrassed as she embraced the one person in the camp she had been the most wary of.
Now they just sat next to each other, looking at the stars in the sky.
They both had many questions for each other, but for now they just wanted to bask in the silence. Lost in their own thoughts as they watched the beautiful night sky shine with stars.
After an hour of just watching the stars, Zola sighed.
"I was always wary of you, Samuel."
He looked at her.
"I know."
She looked him in the eye.
"I know you were groomed by the upper echelons of the Pale Hand."
Sam raised an eyebrow at that.
"Is that why you were wary of me?"
"It was definitely a part of it, but not the most important part."
"And that is?"
"Your lack of emotions."
Sam is confused.
"You see, even those bastards in our unit are able to feel emotions. They feel fear, rage and joy all the time. They are sociopaths. At the very least I could read them. But you were always a sealed book. Unable to be read. That's dangerous."
Sam keeps looking at her before looking back at the stars.
"I was going to kill you earlier. But you should have been instinctually able to fight back or dodge. But you didn't. That's when I realize that something changed."
Sam looked at Zola, right in her beautiful eyes.
"You reminded me of her."
"Who?"
"…My mother."
She raised an eyebrow at that.
"You had a mother?"
"I did. But I never remembered. And even now, all I know is that she looked a lot like me. And she died crying the same tears of pain you were."
"…well at least it seems you had a parents love. Some people aren't fortunate with that."
Sam could see the longing in her eyes.
"I was born in Alexandria, Egypt. The government is corrupt and the quality of life is subpar at best. I don't remember ever having parents. My earliest memory was being hungry on the streets. Everyone would walk past me and not even show me a glance."
Sam was listening closely.
"I had to steal. I had to survive. So I did. And I got beaten bloody."
She lifts her braid and shows him the back of her neck. On it was an X carved into her skin.
"The bastard merchants in Alexandria were cruel. They wouldn't forgive anyone for stealing from them. They would hold down a thief and carve this X into the back of the neck. That way, they would not be welcomed in any of the stores at all. Even if you had money."
Sam looked down, feeling bad about that.
"Don't pity me, Samuel. I don't need it. I never did. If I couldn't buy from those assholes, I would steal. I would get better. Again and again. And I did. After many beatings and many near death experiences, I could swiftly run away and pickpocket anyone without getting caught. But I made a mistake. A grave one."
"What?"
She looks at Sam with her sad eyes.
"I pickpocketed one of the upper echelons of the Pale Hand."
Sam's eyes widened.
"How are you alive?"
"You're right. I shouldn't be. I took the man's wallet and thought it was another successful pickpocket. But next thing I know I'm being held down. I couldn't move even a little bit."
Sam gulped, not liking where this is heading.
"Don't look so worried, Samuel. He didn't do anything. In fact, he applauded me."
"Applauded you?"
Zola nods.
"He told me that I was skilled. That I had potential to become stronger. I remember when I was younger and naiive, I saw a video of a Japanese hero named All Might. I was just beaten again, and I saw that gigantic man easily performing such miracles. I wanted to do that."
"You wanted to be a hero."
"Pfft! Hell no! I wanted to be strong!" She nearly busted out in laughter at that.
"I wanted to be able to fight back. And when he gave me an offer for a place to live, food to eat, and strength training, he didn't need to ask twice."
Sam nodded, aware of how the Pale Hand lures kids to them. How they use a child's suffering and a promise of more power and food to get more soldiers.
"And that was your mistake. Your mistake wasn't pickpocketing him, but accepting his offer."
Zola nodded.
"I remember my first mission. Vividly. It was brutal. I was brought in a year before you. But I had no idea of what they wanted from me yet. So when I learned I had to go and kill people, I was hesitant. But Timo, put a gun to my head and said that he would have to kill me if I didn't obey."
Sam clenched his fists.
"He was the upper echelon in charge of child soldiers. The man who brought me to the camp, turned out to be the right hand man of the boss."
Sam's eyes widened.
"And he didn't protect you?"
"Quite the opposite. He told Timo to break me. Reforge me into a perfect weapon."
Sam was horrified.
"So I was forced to train, fight and kill. For a whole year. By then, I had already forged a fake persona to hide my true feelings."
"Your cocky and battle hungry mask."
Zola nodded.
"Samuel. We are going to be stuck here forever. I saw what happens to deserters. I've seen the head of a kid who tried to run, on a spike in the middle of the training rounds."
Sam heard of that as well.
"It looks like it."
They stayed silent for a while.
"So you remember your last name but not anything else besides your mother's face?"
Sam nods.
"I don't think I could ever forget my own name. My name is a part of me. It can't be taken. But even that was taken the moment I became Canvas."
"Do you have any recollection of Japan?"
Sam shakes his head.
"I don't remember anything. Only that I lived there. That's it."
Zola sits in silence.
"I would like to visit Japan. Maybe live there. There or America."
"Me too…"
"…if you ever find a way to escape, tell me. I'll do the same for you. If we do get away, help me get to Japan. Maybe show me around a bit once you start getting your memories back."
Sam smirked.
"Alright. I will."
For the remainder of the night, they just both stared at the beautiful night sky. The stars shining bright looked even more beautiful as they imagined a life out of this hellish life.