Unicorn13564: Wow, I am so gonna get killed for this… o.O

Chapter 5: In The Depths Of Despair

Hao, Yoh, Horo and Lee neared the sack that was lent against the wall, each footstep that took them closer, made the moment tenser. For each step they took, drew them that much more closer to uncovering the mystery behind the disappearances.

--

Ricky roamed the corridors, searching for Mr Clod. Finally, he found him walking in the direction of the cellar.

"Oh, Mr Clod!" shouted Ricky, panting to make it look as if he's been running. "There… there all over the place!"

"What?"

"Rats! There out to get me!" Ricky clutched Mr Clods' shirt and pulled him closer, whispering into his ear. "There out to get me!"

"I don't have time for your childish games Richard."

Ricky stopped his little act. "It's Ricky!" Mr Clod ignored him and carried on walking. "No seriously, it even says Ricky on my birth certificate so ha! Pissed on your bonfire dinnit!" Ricky was surprised when Mr Clod continued to walk, and decided it was time for drastic measures. "THE RATS ARE INVAIDING!" he yelled dramatically, and pounced on the teachers back, claiming he was trying to escape the rats of death. "IT'S THE PLAGUE!" he yelled, yet Mr Clod managed to throw him off.

"See here Ricky," he said, glaring down at the young teen who was sat on the floor, "I have had just about enough of you! If you know what's good for you' you'll stay out of my way, understand!"

Without waiting for a reply, he turned the corridor to see Andy standing by the cellar door.

--

Hao grabbed the rope that was tied around the entrance of the sack, and was about to pull it when he and the others heard someone yelling about some sort of plague, then someone else, obviously Andy, saying they've broken their leg and need medical attention before they die.

--

Ricky and Andy had done all they could, and still Mr Clod paid no attention to them, and walked down to the cellar.

"Oh shit." Muttered Ricky.

"Ditto." Replied Andy, as they watched Mr Clod walk down into the dark, damp cellar.

--

"Fools," hissed Mr Clod to himself, "Such fools." Mr Clod walked over to the sack and peered in, letting a huge, satisfied grin form on his face.

Oblivious to him, four students watched him from their hiding places. Yoh and Hao were back in the shadows like before, whilst Horo was backed up against the wall next to the stairs, and Lee was underneath a blanket, watching through the thin material.

They watched as he dumped some clothes in the sack that he removed from a bag he'd been carrying, clothes that looked familiar… clothes that looked brand new.

Horo couldn't help but whimper as he saw a bright yellow scarf that belonged to Ren.

The suspicious teacher quickly tied the sack up with the rope and threw it over his shoulder, hunching his back slightly, and exited through another door. Moments after he'd left, they guys figured it was safe to come out of hiding.

"There was another door down here…?" asked Hao to no one in particular.

"I never noticed it before…" said Lee, walking up to the tightly sealed metal door.

Yoh sighed. "Guess we'll never find out what's in that sack…"

"No, don't ever say that!" said Hao enthusiastically, "I don't know about you but I shall not rest until I know what is in that sack! I'll find out even if it kills me!"

"…You do that…" said Lee, "As for me, I'm going back to class."

Lee walked up the cellar stairs and into the hallway filled with sunlight.

A few seconds later, the others followed; their mission once again a failure.

--

Horo sat on the bed that belonged to a certain member of the Tao family. He'd told the head teacher that Ren was gone a few hours after he'd vanished, and still, there was no sign of him.

"…Where are you Ren?" he asked, even though he was alone. "Why would you leave me? Did you leave me? Or has something else happened…?" Horo hugged Ren's pillow, holding it close to his body for comfort, as he began to cry, silently praying for someone to find him and hold him, praying for someone to tell him it would be ok… yet no one came… and he knew they never would…

--

"Come Yoh, the bedroom awaits!" grinned Hao evilly, dragging Yoh by his wrist down the corridors at a fast pace.

"Hold on," said Yoh, shaking his wrist free once they were outside their room, "I just need to check on Horo, he wasn't in class today…"

Hao's eyes saddened slightly as he looked to the floor, his smile turning into a frown, "Maybe he just wants to be alone… I know I would if you left me…"

"But Ren hasn't left, he wouldn't!" said Yoh, almost hurt that Hao would suggest such a thing.

"…I guess… unless Ren comes back… we'll never know…"

Yoh decided to ignore Hao, and told him to wait in their room whilst he talked to Horo. Hao agreed, and Yoh knocked on the door to Horo and Ren's room; then opened it.

Yoh saw Horo lying on Ren's bed. 'He's sleeping… that's good; I guess I'll come back later…' The Asakura was about to close the door when he noticed a pillow on the floor, dotted with a red substance. "…Horo…?" he asked, "Horo, you ok?" Yoh ran beside Horo, quickly noticing the long lines of blood on his arm, and the blooded blade that lay in his limp hand. "Oh Horo!" he said, noticing the lines spelling out the name 'Ren'. "What have you done!" The alarmed teen shook Horo frantically. "Horo, wake up! Don't you leave us! Don't you fuckin leave us!"

His heart skipped a beat as the Ainu's eyes flickered open, yet they didn't have the bright blueness they usually had, instead they were dull and lifeless.

"…He's gone isn't he… Ren…" said Horo, his eyes showing the pain he was going through.

"No, no he's not gone!" assured Yoh.

"Then were is he? Why can't anyone find him?"

Yoh's eyes widened as Horo raised his hand that clutched a sharp knife and put it against his wrist. "Stop." Said Yoh firmly, stopping the Ainu's hand from moving. "Don't Horo, please don't. You have friends who care about you, friends who will help you get through this! Ren isn't dead! He's just… missing…" Yoh knew he sounded as if he was pleading, and in a way he was, yet still, he couldn't let Horo do this to himself, he couldn't.

"Even so…" said Horo, and pressed the blade against his wrist.

"No!" yelled his friend, pulling the hand that clutched the knife away from his wrist. "So what if Ren is dead! I mean, look at you! Would he really want you to kill yourself! And he isn't even dead, so when he does come back and finds out your gone, that you've committed suicide, he'll blame himself and he'll be miserable for the rest of his life! Is that what you want! To make Ren suffer that badly? Do you really hate him that much!"

"…No, I don't want to make him suffer… I love him… its just… I can't stand to live without him Yoh! I can't!"

Yoh hugged the crying Ainu, letting him cry into him. "It's ok Horo, were all here for you… always…"

Unicorn13564: Bless! Yoh such a good fwend:) Go on, review and tell me what a bad person I am for making Horo suffer like this… v.v