"Yoichi, come back! This gang is easy to beat, come back!"<br/><br/>But Yoichi ran, leaving a gangmember behind. He knew when to quit and the sounds behind him, a wave of screams and the near song of fighting convinced him he had chosen wisely.<br/>"...stupid piece of...," he mumbled, breathing ragged. He could taste blood in his mouth and he could swore he broke something this time. It was a wonder he could run at all.<br/>But he had to. Life was hard. The guy he left behind would probably get killed. Not Yoichi, though. As long as he could fight or run when he couldn't, he would stay alive, lead his gang and..<br/>And what, exactly? Food was getting so sparse he had no clue when he'd eat next. If he had any luck, he could get some from the gang. Maybe raid some or the other.<br/>It was getting harder and harder to live in Ceres. If you could call it 'live'. It was more a fight for survival by now.<br/><br/>He dove into an alley, scaring a stray dog, and all he could think about when he saw the dog run off was how good it would taste, even if it was a scruffy, near skeleton like fleebag of a stray.<br/>But the dog was too quick for him in this state and he ended up panting, lungs on fire, leaning against a wall while the dog lived another day.<br/>How the fuck had that thing survived anyway? Whole mobs had swarmed over Ceres in attempts to find food. He wondered how long it would take for people to start eating their own.<br/>Was this the grand design? Was this was Jupiter had wanted? Yoichi couldn't wrap his head around it and he smirked at himself while straightening again and flicking his gaze upwards, at the sky.<br/>Like he knew what went on outside of Ceres. Not him. Not now. Three years ago, maybe. But now? Fat chance.<br/><br/>He needed a place to rest, though. Anything would do for now.<br/>His hand went over his ribs and he winched. "Don't let them be broken, please," he whispered, knowing the gang's hangout was too far to run to and not all too certain there was any place left for him to get any real medical care if his ribs were indeed broken.<br/><br/>It would have been so much easier to think if he wasn't so very hungry.<br/><br/>He needed rest.<br/>He needed food.<br/><br/>Growling he moved again, into the general direction of the hangout while the skies over him darkened slowly.