When Shika was nine years old, he tried to escape from the orphanage for the first time. The orphanage was called Grayshore Little Miracles Orphanage, but most people call it "the orphanage" because it is the most populated orphanage. No one really cared about orphans and most orphans lived in the streets or other shady places. Some were lucky enough to get brought into the care of the orphanage and Shika was one of them. He never considered himself lucky because he hated staying in the orphanage. He hated how there was little to no food and how the bedrooms were crawling with rats and spiders. He hated how they were treated as livestock for sale. So he decided to run away, but that plan obviously failed. He still remembers the punishment they gave him for trying to escape.
"Come here you good-for-nothing freak" one of the workers dragged Shika by the arm.
"Stop pulling me, you prick" Shika tried to escape from his grasp, but the worker had a tight grip.
"You wanted to escape you ungrateful brat even though we gave you food and shelter" the worker shouted. Shika flailed helplessly to escape the man's grip.
"Let me take you to the matron...she will give you a proper punishment" the worker pushed open the door leading to the matron's with his free arm and shoved Shika inside. Shika stumbled inside and fell to the ground. He looked up to see the matron who was filling out some paper. Then, the matron stared at him right in the eyes and Shika looked away. The matron was an old, stern woman with a straight face. She always had a stern expression ingrained on her face.
"What happened, Grayson?" the matron asked.
"This brat thought he could run away from him, Madam Cole" Grayson replied.
"Oh my, what an ungrateful child" she said while looking at Shika.
Grayson slapped Shika's head with his hand. Shika winced in pain. "This brat needs a punishment so that he doesn't repeat this again, Madam" Grayson told the matron.
"Hm, I guess you are right...others will follow his example if we don't give him a good punishment" the matron said with a thoughtful expression on her face. She opened a drawer in her desk and took out a wooden stick. She stood up and handed it to Grayson.
"Give him 100 lashes as his punishment" she said as Shika's eyes widened at the implication. Grayson had a predatory smirk on his face. He tried to leave the office and run, but Grayson grabbed him by the arm.
"Yes, ma'am" Grayson replied. He started to drag Shika out of the office.
"No, please don't hit me...I beg you...this won't happen again" Shika tried to plead, but they didn't listen.
"You deserve this, boy" Grayson led him into a dark room and pushed him to the ground. He grabbed the stick with both hands and brang it up into the air.
"Don't hurt me please...I'll be a good boy" Shika pleaded again.
"No!!"
Shika woke up with a start. His breathing was erratic and his body felt cold. "Calm down, you aren't at that place anymore" Shika took some deep breaths. After he calmed down, he stood up and stretched his arms. "I have been sleeping here for a very long time, the guards are long gone" Shika thought. He started climbing up the ladder and pushed the lid up. Shika got out from the manhole and covered his eyes due to a change in surroundings. The sun was still out, but the streets were quiet. "I have been sleeping in the sewers for a long time" Shika thought.
He kicked the lid back into its place and put on his hood. He started to run back to the street. Just before he left the alleyway, he took a look at the street to make sure there was no city guard searching for him. No one was there, but Shika already expected that because the city guard won't waste their time to find a petty thief. "Lucky me" Shika sighed in relief. He started to walk normally and keeped his head down. He walked for a while until he reached Blackshade Alley, one of the shadiest places in the city of Grayshore.
He entered the alleyway and took a look at the stores as he walked. He could literally feel the temperature drop when he entered the alleyway. Cold air permeated the alleyway and Shika fought back the urge to shiver. He couldn't afford to look weak, especially in this place. Some of the people who lived were thieves just like him, but they were more dangerous and had more experience than him. He walked past a group of people who were talking near a shop. He could feel their gazes lingering on him as he walked past them. They were assessing him, but Shika didn't know for sure. He walked past a store that was supposedly selling "cursed objects" and stopped to check the display out of curiosity. He could see a doll, a bronze teapot, a necklace, and various trinkets. Nothing looked interesting to Shika except for the necklace. He moved closer to the window until his face was touching to get a better look at the necklace. It was an opal necklace and there was a sign below the display that read: Caution! Do Not Touch. Cursed - Has Claimed the Lives of 20 People. Shika backed away after reading it. Even though he didn't believe in cursed objects, it was better safe than sorry. "Such a beautiful necklace, too bad it has a bad fate" Shika thought before walking away. There were more stores selling various other things, but they aren't trustworthy. Most stores in this alleyway overprice their stock or sell illegal things and Shika doesn't want to get into trouble with the city guard. He soon reached a large building with a large sign hanging over the door. The sign read: Big Al's Cauldron. He walked over to the door and took a deep breath. He let out a sigh and pushed the door open.