They had planned to visit the park, where children are never abducted and knives don't exist.
Ritsu grabbed his son, turned, and ran. He ducked under the swing set, plastic wood chips flying. His sense of direction disappeared as he sprinted, and the sidewalk and the people blurred as panic set in. Where was he going? Ritsu's brain spat out a frantic answer: Masamune. He was at work, but Marukawa wasn't far from here. Rei's shoe fell off as they rounded a corner; it was left behind as they cleared a crosswalk right before the light changed.
Rei looked over Ritsu's shoulder and tightened his grip on Ritsu's scarf when he saw the pursuer getting closer. They were fast and quick, lean and dangerous. Ritsu cleared a crosswalk just as the light turned. The cars and the road took their pursuer off guard and when they stumbled back to avoid traffic, their hood fell off. Rei leaned forward, making Ritsu yank him back over his shoulder. The pursuer was a woman. Rei squinted. She had brown hair that stuck up in shocks and big, green eyes, just like Ritsu's. It was no surprise why Rei had mistaken this person for his dad. She put her hands in her pockets, breathing heavily, glaring at them through the haze of cars.
Then, Ritsu doubled over on the sidewalk. Acid burned in the back of his throat. He let Rei down on his feet. With his hand on his dad's sleeve, he squinted through his smudged, round child's glasses, keeping an eye on the woman as his dad took a breather. He almost screamed when the woman caught his eye and, smiling, started to sprint, weaving through the cars.
"Dad! Dad, dad, dad, dad, dad!"
Ritsu cursed and slung Rei over his shoulder. He felt like shit, he needed to go.He had his and Rei's kid with them, and he couldn't let anything bad happen. He ordered his shaking legs to move. The pursuer slowed to a walk behind them. She trailed Ritsu easily, too easily. Rei could smell the woman's breath.
He reached his tiny hand out. Ritsu was halfway up the hill to Marukawa, panting and sweating and shaking. Tanaka flicked his finger under the pursuer's hood.
"Takano," Ritsu breathed, dizzy. He could see Marukawa.
"Dad?" Rei whispered.
Ritsu whipped around.
What had he done, what had he done, what had he done.
He glared at the pursuer, who was grinning at them, and shifted Rei in his arms, sprinting with energy he didn't have up the hill. The woman laughed and called after them, whooping, taking out her knife and running like this was all just a big, bloody game.