Finally the man laid down and slept for several hours, and then was awakened by voices being spoken in the hall area outside his room. He could hear the voice of one man whom he did not know saying "Have you caught the criminal?" Nara's voice replied, "Oh, yea, he is sleeping right now."

The man who remained in the room felt the rate of his heart beat increase on hearing this. Many questions were roving in his mind. What do they mean? There, he said this to himself in his mind while he got out of the bed slowly. He was able to move slowly as he approached the door and heard the conversation, with more a more fervor bending his ear to the door.

The dialogue outside continued. "You know, we came to an understanding, it is time for you to pay up," Nara said brusquely, her voice professional.

"Don't worry", the man said in a deep voice, "I will give you the amount as per the bounty placed for this man."

The man in the room sat up straight, instantly feeling the shallow pulse of cold sweat down his spine. "Bounty? What bounty?" he thought. He was quietly focused on the sounds that was coming from the other side of the room, where someone was tossing coins into a bag. Yuko simply handed the money to Nara who took it and after some silence started to count it carefully. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she blinked yes after he assured her that the number on the screen is correct.

The feeling of anger and desperation started to fill in the man as he came to the understanding that he had been an object for sale among the strangers. Gone in a blink of an eye his fear transformed into desperate. Without any delay, his eyes shifted across the room and looked for the escape route. That is when he saw the window, This is because when he was overwhelmed by the pain, all his focus would shift to the window.

He was overwhelmed by numerous questions. Why did Nara betray me? What did they want from me? Why was there a bounty on my head? And who was this man hunting me? It did not logics in any way, and yet the threat was all to real to be ignored.

And as the man strayed further and further into the unfamiliar territory, he swore that he will make it out alive through this trial. He did not know how, but he was quite sure of one thing: he was not going to let them take him alive. Not without a fight.

Far behind him the noise that was the search party was beginning to fade but the danger was still present. He could occasionally hear voices raised and bare footfalls as they began fanning out in search of something. It was a lot harder now and he had to gasp for air and his jogging had definitely become less energetic.

He kept on chanting in his mind that he cannot let them capture him again and again as a reminder to focus on moving forward and endure the pain he was enduring.Outside, the unknown man appeared to become more and more frustrated and angry. It was apparent that his temper was fraying at the edges and the inability to apprehend the runaway was definitely placing it under pressure. Standing close to the house, he angrily strode up and down, shouting to his men to search further for the intruders.

"He couldn't have gone far!" he said harshly, barking out the words with a tone that was marginally softer than a command. "Look for him in every possible corner of the house, I want him captured!"

The day was well spent and the sunset which had started appearing painted the scenery with longer shades. The man who was still running understood that night is coming and at night other problems start all over. The man was in urgent need of a shelter where he could spend a day without his enemies finding him how hard he was.

It was in this way that he thought as he dashed through the unknown terrein his body was running his mind was busy assessing his options. He has to continue running he thought looking around suspiciously behind. He understood that there would be no let up, yet he had to pushing forward. He could not risk losing it because he had to be alive to accomplish what he had on his mind.

As he continued distancing himself from the building, the whole environment which surrounded him started changing. Earlier it was much less populated area and the next few kilometers were comparatively more with open space and few trees here and there.

He even thought of concealing himself in the trees for some time but the feeling of being trapped with his defenseless state made him decline the offer immediately. No, now I can't, he thought, and continued to push himself even though his muscles began to protest fatigue.

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This made Nara a little wary and she drew back a little so she could study him and think of a proper response. But before she could get a single word out, the man rose from the bed in a fury and left the room. "Spread out and find him!" he shouted at his soldiers waiting outside. He gave a loud tone commanding his group to start searching as from that instant.

The men dispersed instantly each running around the area in an arbitrary distinct pattern. The unknown man stood in front of the door scowling and grinding his teeth as if frustrated beyond limits. Tilting back the enormous jug, he swore softly under his breath, "That bastard won't get far," and peering before him frowning "I wonder what is it?" "Well, we will take him soon. "

He immediately went towards it and urged to open it as lightly as possible. There was a slight click and the window came up and he opened it just enough for him to crawl through.Despite the pain of a recently sustained injury on the shoulder, the situation at hand was smoldering and could not be ignored. He circled around the house and climbed in through the window in silence then jumped out quietly on the grass. His heart beat rapidly and he looked back to check whether he had been noticed by anybody.

On the other hand, out in the other room, Nara was leading an unknown man to the door where her supposed prisoner was laying. The two of them walked energetically and the man's footsteps seemed to weigh with expectation. Using her calm persona, Nara opened the door to reveal a room, which was bare of any life.

The unknown man tensed up recovering from the strike and growled, "Where is he?"

Nara was visibly startled. "Where is he?" she said struggling for words, she looked around the room as if expecting to see him.

Staring intently the man's face then turned into a scowl with suspicion drawn all over his face. He entered the room and stood still for a while surveying the room from all angles. Nara, bewildered, rushed to the bedman and looked around making sure that the man is not in the room somewhere. When she realized this she saw that the window was open.

"He probably jumped through the window," she mumble with a note of disappointment in her voice.

The expression of the unknown man changed to anger. He wasn't expecting that reply and at once, he muttered under his breath, "Damn it!" He punched the wall in anger then turned at Nara and yelled, "You let the criminal go!"

On the other hand the man who had escaped was already far from the room at that point in time. The man's movements were fast but stable and with every step he winced in pain at the recent shoulder wound. He clenched his teeth narowing his eyelids and made a determined step forward ignoring the pain. He was aware that his enemies would realise that he has fled, and time was already against him.

t was in this way that he thought as he dashed through the unknown terrein his body was running his mind was busy assessing his options. He has to continue running he thought looking around suspiciously behind. He understood that there would be no let up, yet he had to pushing forward. He could not risk losing it because he had to be alive to accomplish what he had on his mind.

As he continued distancing himself from the building, the whole environment which surrounded him started changing. Earlier it was much less populated area and the next few kilometers were comparatively more with open space and few trees here and there.

He even thought of concealing himself in the trees for some time but the feeling of being trapped with his defenseless state made him decline the offer immediately. No, now I can't, he thought, and continued to push himself even though his muscles began to protest fatigue.

Far behind him the noise that was the search party was beginning to fade but the danger was still present. He could occasionally hear voices raised and bare footfalls as they began fanning out in search of something. It was a lot harder now and he had to gasp for air and his jogging had definitely become less energetic.

He kept on chanting in his mind that he cannot let them capture him again and again as a reminder to focus on moving forward and endure the pain he was enduring.Outside, the unknown man appeared to become more and more frustrated and angry. It was apparent that his temper was fraying at the edges and the inability to apprehend the runaway was definitely placing it under pressure. Standing close to the house, he angrily strode up and down, shouting to his men to search further for the intruders.

"He couldn't have gone far!" he said harshly, barking out the words with a tone that was marginally softer than a command. "Look for him in every possible corner of the house, I want him captured!"

The day was well spent and the sunset which had started appearing painted the scenery with longer shades. The man who was still running understood that night is coming and at night other problems start all over. The man was in urgent need of a shelter where he could spend a day without his enemies finding him how hard he was.

He was overwhelmed by numerous questions. Why did Nara betray me? What did they want from me? Why was there a bounty on my head? And who was this man hunting me? It did not logics in any way, and yet the threat was all to real to be ignored.

The man strayed further and further into the unfamiliar territory, he swore that he will make it out alive through this trial. He did not know how, but he was quite sure of one thing: he was not going to let them take him alive. Not without a fight.