That night, Nanjiroh, Rinko, Sumire, and Tezuka stayed behind to cooperate with the police regarding Ryoma's disappearance, and to learn more about the White Van Gang as well. The other regulars made sure Tomoka, Sakuno and Nanako got home safe before they went home themselves. Tezuka reassured them that they will get to the bottom of this and promised to give them updates if anything comes up.
Meanwhile, the four adults sat together in the interrogation room of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Headquarters as they all listened to the story Officer Takagi was telling.
"The recent victim of the notorious gang, and the only one who got back half alive, was Yuki Kitagawa, a middle school student at Seihen Academy." he sipped on his cup of Joe as he watched the different reactions of his companions.
Sumire gasped in shock, Rinko covered her mouth with her hand, Nanjiroh held his wife while his other hand rubbed Rinko's back comfortingly, and Tezuka, although no emotions could be physically present, he still felt worry for the youngest tennis member, especially if this myth is actually true, Ryoma could be facing a painful future ahead of him, or if he could ever live to see that future. He swallowed hard and decided to confirm if what they had heard was right.
"Half alive, officer? Can you elaborate?" he said. Takagi shifted his position on the sofa and rested his elbows on his legs while his hands were entwined together.
"Judging from all the bruises and blood accumulating on every part of her body, well, not every part because her arms were missing, you can easily tell that she was on the brink of death. The night when a concerned citizen brought her over at a hospital, she was already dead. We still don't know how she managed to return, though. It's baffling." he stated.
Silence filled the room as Officer Shiro entered, carrying a tray of six coffees and some cookies. He placed it on the center table and sat beside Takagi on the sofa.
Nanjiroh, after being silent the whole time after he found out that Ryoma has been taken, finally spoke.
"What do you think these sick bastards are, and where are they taking my son?" he asked the officers with a stern voice, his eyes narrowed and focused on the coffee mug he's holding. Rinko put a hand on his shoulder for empathy and he turned to look at his wife with the same expression.
"The citizen who discovered Yuki's body that night had later told us that while he was rushing her body to the hospital, Yuki told him what happened. The next day, that man came to us and told us her story." he said. All eyes focused on him as he finished his coffee.
"We're officially lost." the tall, slender man said. The three of them have been walking like forever but none of the pathways led them to their destination. The two kids behind him practically dragged their tired feet as they perspire tremendously. The sun's hot rays shining directly above them like swords of fire piercing through their skin was not helping.
Ryoma would say something to the man as he avoid stepping on the small rocks on their way. Maggie just walked alongside the boy, while she would tighten her grip on Ryoma's hand as a form of support whenever he strive to keep his balance due to the pain of being barefoot was causing him.
"How long have you been a member of your gang, anyway?" he tried to obtain as much relevant information out of Jason as possible, even if it meant making him uncharacteristically talkative at the time. For the umpteenth time, Jason grimaced at him. The two kids could see that he was obviously frustrated at his current responsibility.
Patience, Jason. The master needs these two... patience. He thought and heaved a sigh.
"Will you just shut your mouth?" he calmly told Ryoma without glancing at him. The boy was annoyed. One thing Ryoma disliked was being told to shut up because he was usually the one to say that, to boost his superiority. Saying that to his face only added fuel to his irritation.
Patience, Ryoma. I need to budge this guy... patience. He thought. Thinking of other things to ask without being disregarded, he kept his mouth shut. Once again, the silence only made the situation worse. Ryoma fanned himself with his shirt sticking onto his body with the excessive sweat that was developing because of the weather. Maggie's free hand made its way into her pocket and clutched a handkerchief. Her eyes darted to its side, checking out Ryoma and his stature. He was not as tall as the boys in her school, just average height for a kid. She would say his height was that of an elementary kid. If they were on the same age and got together, it would be weird because she was much taller than Ryoma.
Wait, is that abs? He must be a body builder in their school, or an athlete, maybe he swims?
She blushed and pulled out the cloth on her hand.
"Here, use it." she said. Ryoma inspected the handkerchief being held in front of him. It was pink, with floral embroidery on the side. He judged it was definitely expensive, the kind that most rich students own. He thought of the gesture. Maggie is slightly less annoying than Ryuzaki's loud friend but is not as quiet as Ryuzaki, herself. She was in between. Still, he accepted the handkerchief. Maggie smiled.
"Thanks." he wiped his face with it and handed it back to the girl. Maggie frowned. She tossed the soaked, dirty cloth behind and continued to walk.
"Jason, is it?" Ryoma tried again. This time, Jason looked behind him over his shoulder. Maggie just listened and observed Ryoma's tactics, because the boy had explained his plans earlier and she was fascinated by interrogating Jason, but she can't interfere, she doesn't know what questions to ask, though.
"What is it this time, kid?" he answered.
"You're not a bad guy. I can tell." he avoided another spiky rock before looking back up on the man who was snickering.
"Oh, what, you're like a psychic or something?" Ryoma smirked.
"You think I didn't see the insects that you avoided to step on? As far as I know, that's kindness in your eyes." cheap shot, Ryoma thought.
For a moment, Jason stopped. The two kids studied his back while he scratched his head, wondering which way they would go. But then he started walking again.
"Not all villains kill everything, you know." Jason stated. He felt a bit of blush creeping up on his face. The truth is, he had a soft spot for nature. Ever since he was a child, he would always feed the animals and make shelter for insects on their backyard. He just couldn't help but love all the creatures, and not just them, actually. He suddenly thought about his mom, his dad, and his friends. He cared for them but all of them were gone now, because of him.
He winced at the painful memory.
"What a waste, though, because I accidentally stepped on all of them."
His eyes widened and turned around to the face of the merciless kid who had just claimed that he murdered all the harmless creatures he had been careful not to squash.
"Y-You did?!" he watched Ryoma nodded slowly as he fumed in anger. Maggie hid behind Ryoma's back as Jason strode past them.
"Why?! What did they ever do to you? Haven't you learned anything in school?" he frantically made his way back to the path they had taken and searched for the insects that have probably been squeezed flat on the ground, but saw nothing. He was confused.
"Just kidding!" he heard Ryoma said behind him. He turned and saw the boy standing with his toothy grin while his foot was raised, revealing the dirty sole of his foot with mud, but no blood or flattened insect sticking to it. Maggie was gaping. One reason is because of the shameless joke Ryoma had pulled, second was the horrified face of Jason. She didn't know what reaction to expect from Jason. He would probably kill us right here, right now, she thought.
For a moment, Jason stared at Ryoma. He couldn't decide whether to strangle the boy or just ignore him. He was absolutely aware that he was taunting him, but he also admitted that he was dead worried about those innocent insects. He could feel hot tears threathening to fall from his eyes but he kept his cool. Instead, he weakly sat down on the dirt and rubbed his temples.
"Hey... you alright?" he heard Ryoma ask and the sound of their footsteps getting closer. His head was pounding, like it was being squeezed hard.
"Mister..." this time it was the girl who spoke. But he didn't care, his whole body quivered. All of the painful memories came back into his head, being jammed, almost heaping. He hammered his head with his fists in the hopes of the throbbing to stop.
"J-Jason, stop!" but he didn't listen. His eyes frantically searched for something hard to smash his head on, the ground, a tree, a tree...
"Tree!" he exclaimed before shuffling over the nearest Pine tree he saw. Ryoma and Maggie watched in horror as the man panicked and finally stepped in front of the tree and violently rammed his head, each time a loud thud could be heard around the forest and birds nesting above the trees were flying away. Maggie clutched Ryoma's shirt and began to break into tears.
"Ryoma, make him stop!" Maggie sobbed uncontrollably and sank on her knees. Ryoma's heart throbbed loudly. He knew something had triggered Jason, something he did. Damn, it's his fault if he died here. He let go of Maggie's hand and untangled himself off the rope and ran towards the man who had lost control over himself. Blood oozed down from his forehead as he continuously tried to break his head in half.
"Shit." Ryoma stared in horror at the almost half dead man in front of him as he tried to focus and think of a way to calm him down. Finally, he covered Jason's bloody forehead with his hands, making them the new target for the rough tree banging. He winced in pain as his hands began to gain scratches.
"Jason, stop!" he ordered but the man wasn't listening, or he just simply couldn't hear him anymore. Ryoma positioned his foot on the tree trunk and used it to pull Jason away from it. A little more strength was required to do so, for he was just a kid and years of playing tennis was not enough to stop a suicide by himself.
He looked at the crying girl behind them. He was about to call her over but he could not recall her name.
What was her name? I know it starts with 'M' but what?!
"Hey, you! Help me!" he settled for the most informal form of addressing that he knew.
Maggie stood up abruptly and hurried to Ryoma's side. She roamed her eyes to the two's situation and assessed it.
"W-What do I do?!" she asked in a shaky voice. Ryoma flinched once again as Jason continued bumping his own head, covered by Ryoma's hands, on the tree trunk. He bit his lower lip and faced Maggie.
"Grab his arms and we'll pull him together." Maggie complied at once. And soon, they had successfully stopped Jason's episode. The man laid there unconsciously, on his side were Maggie and Ryoma, who were panting, trying to catch their breaths.
"R-Ryoma... I think you killed him." she glanced at the man lying in his own blood. Ryoma smirked.
"He's just sleeping. Good thing we stopped him soon, or the damage on his head would be fatal. Look, his hearbeat is stable." he said.
"What? Look at his head. He's literally sleeping on a pool of blood." Maggie insisted.
"Don't exaggerate." he scoffed.
Maggie was taken aback by Ryoma's confidence. "Alright, Mr. Doctor!"
After they had applied a bit of first aid on Jason (cleaning his wound with river water, bandaging him with Maggie's uniform's sleeves), it was already sunset and they decided to set up for camp.
Ryoma covered the sleeping Jason so he wouldn't get cold. Good thing the man was wearing a leather coat. Then he checked for his pockets to find anything to light a fire. Instead, he found a pill bottle.
"What's this for?" he murmured. He shrugged and kept it on his own pocket.
"It's getting dark... and cold." Maggie whined as she hugged herself warily. Being alone with two guys can really be alarming, especially at night. Ryoma sighed and collected some nearby tree branches scattered on the ground. He ignored the girl once more. If she helped him fix Jason and gather some firewoods or anything that can light a fire with, then she wouldn't be so cold.
It was truly a pain in the ass being with a girl, Ryoma noted. This has always happened whenever he was with Ryuzaki, but it's a different kind of annoying with her. During Sundays on their weekly tennis lessons at the park, Wobbly Hips would always stutter when she wanted to tell him something that he had a hard time comprehending. Result? No mutual understanding. Then her elbows are too bent, her knees buckling whenever I point out to keep her eyes on the ball, and her hair. God.. need I say more? The one important rule for girls who wants to make a career out of sports? Cut your hair!
But he had to admit, Ryuzaki Sakuno had improved a lot lately. Ryoma felt like she had started to actually listen to him, not just hearing what he's saying. She have been applying all of his teachings and now, they can even play an almost even match against each other. And she can manage to play tennis with her long hair. Not bad, Ryuzaki.
I'm glad my lack of sunday naps and efforts were not in vain and was put into good use. He smiled, suddenly missing his home, his friends, and the girl. He can't wait until he gets home.
After an hour of rubbing the sticks together to create friction and heat, Ryoma had successfully lit a fire. Maggie was amused, she had seen enough to prove that Ryoma is indeed a dream guy every girl would want. He's strong, smart, competent, able to turn situations to his advantage, very proficient in survival, really, the list goes on and it's just their first day together.
Sitting across from the boy, Maggie cradled her chin on her bent knees as she admired Ryoma's facial features. The fire flickered through his sharp cat-like eyes as he watched the fire turn the woods into ashes, his thin lips pursed together, and his dark green hair ruffled by the wind. She was thankful that it was him that has been taken and not another girl. She used this peaceful opportunity to start a conversation with the boy.
"So, what will happen now?" she asked. Ryoma looked up at her.
"Wait until he wakes up." he sets his attention back at the fire. The smoke rose above their heads, driving away mosquitoes that threatened to consume their blood and probably transmit deadly disease.
"And then what? What if he kills us?" Maggie tightened her embrace on her own knees as she waited for Ryoma to asnwer. She saw him flash a smirk, the light the fire provided made his eyes glimmer in this dark and silent night. Maggie could not resist the blush she felt and tried to hide it by sunking her head onto her knees so that only her eyes would be seen, still not leaving Ryoma's face.
"He can't even hurt a fly. I told you I'd shake him." he boasted.
"You shook him way too hard he might be dead in the morning." she glanced at the sleeping figure beside the fire. They both watched his chest go up and down, reassuring them that Jason was still alive.
"See?"
Maggie sighed in defeat. She had grasped the nature Ryoma had since they met. He is too conceited, impulsive, and self-assured. Not that she's complaining. It's actually the other way around.
"Well, it's either him or us being dead tomorrow."
To be continued.