Yuuya came back the next day with food in hand. He placed it in front of her, backing up and sitting a few small feet away. He grinned darkly at her, waiting a few moments before speaking. "I'm not leaving until you eat... If you refuse to, I'll just have to punish you until you do," he told her simply, since he didn't want her starving herself. He wanted her to be alive for much longer. He wanted to get every ounce of joy out of this.
Ayumi looked at the food blankly. Her empty stomach hurt, but her appetite was so shot she couldn't even imagine swallowing it. Her eyes shifted to look at him as he spoke, a hatred burning in her stomach. Her eyes narrowed at him, a deep frown on her face. She wondered what exactly 'punish' meant. An earlier death? She couldn't say she'd hate that. She looked back at the food, debating if she should try. What would be better? Pride and hatred, along with lack of appetite made her want to ignore the food. The rational, smarter side told her to just go along with his demands. She waited for a long moment to decide she had no interest in eating, especially under his demand.
Yuuya waited, staring at her, but eventually made a small hum in understanding. It was expected she'd be reluctant. He stood, coming closer to grab her hair. "You should know being rebellious will get you nowhere... But I guess I have to teach you so first," he said with a blank, cruel expression. He struck her with a quick punch on her cheek, letting her hair go afterword. "Eat," he repeated, but his tone was lower and more demanding.
Ayumi's jaw clenched tight as he grabbed her by her hair. A small, pained sound rumbled at the back of her throat. She glared at him as he spoke, his cruel expression made her insides turn with fear. She couldn't let him get what he wanted so easily. The strike was admittedly unexpected, she hadn't guessed that he would pull a punch so quickly. It made sense, though. The worse a single punch could do was bruise someone. It hurt badly, the impact rattling her head and sending a pulsing pain down her cheeks to her jawline. She tasted blood spilling from her gums that cut against her teeth. As she was released and commanded, she stared at the food. Her head hurt, a lot. She had never been in a fight before, much less had any physical violence done to her. Her free hand moved to her cheek as she cringed. "No," she growled at him. The pain didn't matter. She wouldn't let him have so much free reign over her. She refused to make things easier.
Yuuya seemed disgruntled by her disobedience. He gave a frustrated huff and stomped on her stomach, holding back his strength of course. Well... if she didn't eat today, it wouldn't be the end of her... He didn't have the patience to deal with this today. Maybe the pain her stomach caused her would break her down quicker. Once she realized the agony of starvation, she'd cave in. He turned his head, guessing he'd 'give up' for now. She could go a week without food if she wanted. The other, more urgent need was a lot easier to force down her throat. He knelled down again, grabbing her jaw and forcing her mouth open. He pulled a water bottle from his school bag, pouring the water into her mouth. He wouldn't lift the bottle from her mouth until she swallowed, which her body would probably do from instinct eventually.
Ayumi felt herself unable to breathe when he stomped on her stomach. The wind was completely knocked out of her, and a wave of nausea came crashing down on her once again. She was taking heavy pants as she tried to recover from the hit. She hardly was beginning to catch her bearings when he came back down to her level. He grabbed her jaw, her head tried to yank away from him immediately, but his grip was too strong. The water came flooding into her mouth, something she cursed herself for not expecting. She hated how much of a relief it was to her dry mouth that still had the tinge of taste from vomiting yesterday. She coughed at first, unprepared and unwilling to swallow. After the initial coughs, her throat began to move to swallow the liquid.
Yuuya felt pleased again as her throat began to swallow the water. He waited for the whole bottle to be depleted, so she could last until next time. Once that was done, he took the bottle from her mouth and stood, stepping away. "Starving yourself won't accomplish anything... You'll just be causing yourself needless pain... So be smart, and take what has been given to you," he told her, putting the empty bottle into his bag. "If you don't comply soon, I'll just have to punish others in your stead. That would be a shame... for another to bear your consequence," he said with a casual toss of his hand, turning to leave. He wouldn't bring in another until a couple days' time. He liked to pace himself.
Ayumi took a sharp, deep breath as the water finally ran out. She was panting heavily, wiping some water that had dribbled down her chin away with her sleeve. She watched him with hard eyes as he seemed to collect himself to leave. Her expression faltered at mention of punishment to others. 'Dammit!' she cursed. Of course he wouldn't let her starve to death. Her eyes moved down to her lap, the inevitability and helplessness crushing her. Would it matter if others suffered her consequence? Won't he torture them all in the same way, regardless of her actions? Was she willing to risk that? She whimpered quietly to herself. No matter what she did, he would get his way. There was no winning for her in this.
Yoshiki had been a wreck after he found out Ayumi was missing. He saw her... just the day before. She had student council, so he had left without even saying bye, figuring she was busy. Was that the last time he'd see her? His stomach turned horribly as he thought more and more about it, how that day might be his last day with Ayumi. No... no, she can't be dead! Not Shinozaki... I didn't even... His mind was a mess of grief, it took all he had just to drag himself to school. A classroom without Ayumi in it... Everything felt foreign, and looking at anything gave him a horrible sense of nostalgia. She had been just fine... With that smiling face, laughing and talking with everyone... Now she was gone. No one knew where she was. He didn't want to imagine the worst case scenario, but it wouldn't leave his head. It hurt horribly whenever the thought came up. She's dead.
Yoshiki sat silently at lunch with the others, just staring at his food. He couldn't eat... he had no appetite. His eyes were also tired, but he couldn't sleep. The last two nights had been restless, and if he did close his eyes, he was plagued with terrifying dreams. His head felt dizzy, and everything felt like it was fake lately... He hadn't talked to any of his friends, not even Satoshi. He always felt detached from everything... He felt empty, and consumed with misery and concern for Ayumi, for the girl he held dear more than anyone else. He looked away from his food, his eyes dull and tired.
The life had been sucked out of the classroom as it become apparent Ayumi was missing. It was impossible to believe. Satoshi kept expecting to glance to her seat during class and see her there, scribbling down notes furiously as normal. But, every time he looked... just an empty seat. It was damn near impossible to keep trying to go on with their lives. Lessons had to resume as normal, but the missing class representative hung heavily on everyone's mind. Some were carrying on better than others, while others were obviously near tears throughout the entire day. Although, Yoshiki just seemed to have disappeared along with her.
Lunch was an awkward period. The group of friends, those who had been closest to Ayumi, were stuck between silence and trying to have normal conversations. He glanced at Yoshiki, brow furrowed in concern. Had Yoshiki been eating at all? Even if his own appetite had wavered, he still managed to get a few mouth bites of food in him. Satoshi could just go home and check his computer constantly for incoming news. Yoshiki had a job he had to go to, or else he couldn't afford rent.
"A boy's body has been found," Sakutaro suddenly spoke up. Under the rim of his glasses were dark circles, which were probably on everyone's eyes at this point. Satoshi tensed a bit at the topic. It was probably Sakutaro's odd way of trying to comfort everyone. After all, it wasn't her body...
Mayu sat quietly at the lunch table, her hands clenched at her lap. She blinked at Sakutaro's news, trying to see the bright side, but even that was cruel. Her bottom lip quivered, her mind racing with worry over Ayumi. She had told her not to worry... that she'd find somebody to go home with... but... she didn't come back. Finally, a sob broke through, and with that, her entire composure fell to pieces. She began crying, holding her hands over her eyes as she doubled over. It felt like she already knew that they had lost Ayumi forever... Even if her body hadn't been found, it's like their friendship was severed by death. She felt miserable... Naomi looked down with a sorrowful expression, while Yoshiki remained in the same zombie-like state.
The silence was broken by Mayu's sobs, sending Satoshi's own composure down the drain. He could bite back the intense emotions Mayu was showing, but he felt his own fears magnified with her sobs. Still, they had to stay positive. "Suzumoto... we don't know what's happened yet. There's still a chance everything can turn out fine," Satoshi said with as much confidence as he could. It was false hope. Three days in with no word... even without a body visible, Ayumi had to be in an awful position.
"That's right! Shinozaki isn't a lost cause. Let's try to keep up hope," Seiko encouraged with a subdued smile.
Sakutaro gave them both sideways look. They were both lying. To some degree, at the very least. Still, seeing Mayu cry always sank him down to the deepest pits of depression. He shouldn't have made that comment, but it was too late now. Even if they were feeding her false hope, he couldn't help but be wishful that she'd latch onto it.
Mayu tried to listen to the hopeful comments of Satoshi and Seiko, but she just had a horrible feeling in her gut. Still, she attempted to calm down her sobs, and constantly rubbed at her eyes with her sleeves to dry them. "I... I should have made her come with us," she cried miserably, sniffling and beginning to hiccup. She didn't want to flat out dismiss the others' encouragement, since she really did want to believe Ayumi could still be saved, but she couldn't find it in herself to agree, either. More than anything, she felt guilty, and was constantly blaming herself when she lay in bed at home, crying. If she had just made her walk home with her and Sakutaro... she'd be fine! She'd still be in class, making sure everything was organized and such, and having fun with them...
Sakutaro looked at Mayu in concern, feeling useless in helping her deal with this. Her best friend was missing, while a killer was on the loose. Odds are the two may never see each other again. The guilt she felt would eat her alive if she continued on like this. He shifted closer, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You can't blame yourself for this, Mayu," he said sternly. "You don't know if any altered paths would be better," he tried to explain. Who knows how this killer operated. Ayumi could have been targeted specifically. "Why don't we print more posters after school and then go into the city and post them?" he offered gently. The more people who knew Ayumi's face, the better. Plus, it's something Mayu could do, instead of sitting inside her room crying.
Mayu uncovered her face and looked to Sakutaro as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She buried her sobs deep into her chest to listen to him talk, fighting back tears. She gulped, wiping her face one last time before nodding lightly. "Okay...," she muttered, sniffling once more. Even if she still felt like she would never see Ayumi again, Sakutaro had a way of calming her down, no matter really what he said. His voice just helped her come down from bursts of sorrow. "Thank you, Shige-nii," she said after clearing her throat, trying to keep it from cracking.
Sakutaro felt himself relax a little bit, even though he knew that there was only so long before posters and other methods wouldn't work. In some way, he hoped closure would find them if Ayumi wasn't able to get back home to them. The question in the air of whether she was dead or not was torture for everyone. He smiled softly at Mayu, nodding as his hand moved to pat her on the head lightly before returning to his side. He had a feeling that was the extent of the conversation that was going to happen. Would things ever work their way back to normalcy again?
Yoshiki kept quiet through it all, hardly even listening. Most voices came into his ears as just muffled background noise, his mind having a difficult time tuning in to anything. Though, as his eyes listlessly glazed over the room, they caught another set, staring straight back at him. Both dull gray eyes met, and as soon as that connection was made, a sickening chill went down his spine. His eyes went from slightly widened to narrowed, something off about the guy's looks... He was a senior here, wasn't he?... He broke eye contact finally, his head back down towards his food. There was something about that... It was such a menacing look, an expression that was seared into his mind. His suspicions, though unfounded, began with that look of hidden malice.