Chapter 7

SAWAMURA'S LINE-buddy AND TAKASHI

"Any ransom or demand letters?" Rei asked.

"We haven't received any ransom phone calls or letters as yet, Ms. Rei." Sawamura's father said.

He began to wonder who had kidnapped Eijun and why since his family is not rich and they don't have the money to pay any ransom. They work hard just so they can have a normal family life.

Rei and Sawamura family wondered about what had happened to Eijun. They were distressed. Sawamura's father looked at his wife who was busy making the tea. Her hands were quick as she poured the tea from the tea kettle into little cups and started over to the table with her husband, father-in-law and Takashima Rei.

"It's been two days since he went missing. He hasn't shown up yet, something must have happened to him. The weather is good and he has still not come home." Sawamura's father told them.

"Yeah, he should have been home by now. I'm worried about my stupid grandson." Eitoku said, he understand their problem since Eijun was an only child.

Sawamura's grandfather began to feel guilty and thought about Eijun went through a lot of abuse by slapping him most of the time, even though it was just a family tradition. But he shouldn't do that because it can make Eijun feel like he's a bad kid since most of his childhood friends' parents were never hit or slap them in the face. But as time goes by, it doesn't affect Sawamura that much anymore. He just used to it.

"I'm afraid he was really kidnapped or... is in some sort of trouble." Rei gulped, but tried to hide it.

Sawamura's mother couldn't bear to think of her son being out there somewhere in the kidnapper's house, alone and waiting for help. Each tick of the clock was even more frightening for her.

"Ei-chan suffered recently from pneumonia. We've been lucky to find professional doctors in Tokyo to cure him. I hope he takes his meds but he's out there somewhere which can put him in danger." Sawamura's mother said in a soft voice.

"I'm really sorry, Mrs. Sawamura. There are hundreds of people now out there doing everything possible to find your son." Rei said quietly.

"I know, Ms. Rei. This waiting is just... so horrible." Sawamura's mother nodded tightly.

"Do you want something to eat, honey?" her husband asked.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm not hungry right now. I'll have time to eat after Ei-chan is in my arms again." she sighed.

Her husband and father-in-law had no answer to that and could only hope she wouldn't starve to death waiting for Eijun. Sawamura's father wasn't hungry either, but he forced himself to eat the biscuit.

"Don't worry, Sawamura-kun will be home again." Rei said.

"But what happened to Eijun after he was kidnapped?" Eitoku asked.

"The boys went outside to look for him, they searched all night without finding a trace of him and returned to the dorm, weary and dispirited. We have no idea either which direction the kidnapper headed." Rei responded.

Sawamura's mother began to cry because there is nothing more painful for a mother than losing her child. Her husband glanced and met her watery eyes, and suddenly he was fighting back tears. He knew he couldn't cry. Crying would make him look uglier and weak, but still, knowing all of that didn't seem to help. The tears were coming whether he wanted them to or not. Then, a gentle fingers caressed his palm. His wife calmed him that he could hold back his tears.

"The police will find him." she said with a smile.

They remember the time when Sawamura was sleeping peacefully on the wooden veranda of their house. They both watched him for a few a moments, wondering what their son might be dreaming of—if perhaps his dream is about baseball.

He embraced his wife in his arms and allowed her to cry upon his shoulder. Sawamura's father couldn't help feeling remorseful that he hadn't talk to Eijun yet after his recovery from pneumonia and wondered if he'd ever see his son again.

Rei chose to stay quiet, she knew she was the one responsible for Sawamura's disappearance and wanted to remove the guilt from her mind. If only there was a way she could go back in time before the young boy went back to the dorm alone, she will never leave him that time since he was still sick. But for Rei, the more she thought about leaving Sawamura alone by himself, the more the flashbacks haunted her mind.


Sawamura was slowly regaining his senses, he knew the bruises were still painted on his arms despite of darkness and his head ached like he was hit with a baseball bat. His back hurt from the hard cement floor and his wrists still tightly tied. His stomach growled, he hadn't eaten or drunk anything all day. Desperately trying to forget about his hunger, he tried thinking about playing baseball and talking with his friends. While he was trying to think them, the basement door suddenly opened with a light coming from above. Sawamura froze and slowly inched back to his original position.

Surprisingly, the man held a glass of water, bread rolls and first aid kit. Sawamura watched him as he sat on the cold cement floor.

"Eijun, drink." the man held the glass to Sawamura's lips and tipped it.

Sawamura greedily swallowed even though the front of his shirt got wet from the dribbling water. The man opened the plastic of bread rolls and held it up to the young boy's mouth. Sawamura leaned forward and took a small bite while the man just stared at him with no expression on his face. Sawamura took another bite and chewed and thought maybe he should try to talk to him.

"Thanks... I... I was really thirsty..." Sawamura said.

The man didn't react, he just took another bread roll and offering Sawamura another bite.

"What's your...name, sir?" Sawamura asked.

"Kimura." the man answered, still no reaction.

He started caressing Sawamura's cheek and his heart filled with an unimaginable passion as he convinced himself that this baseball boy was his idol. He caressed that face and listened to Sawamura's loud heartbeat, even though the young boy was terrified, the man smiled in delight. That soft face of the pitcher against his hand was such amazing medicine to a soul as lonely as his. Then, he stared into Sawamura's brilliant brown eyes, he remembered the first time he had seen those beautiful eyes and adorable face.

"How do you feel, Eijun?" he asked.

"K-Kimura-san, p-please, let me go. They will be looking for me now.." Sawamura begged.

The man's eyes narrowed and put down the plastic of bread rolls beside Sawamura.

"Eat and clean your bruises. Put a bandage on it." Kimura said as he stood up and walked away.

When the basement door closed, Sawamura could hear the man's footsteps above. After a few minutes, all was quiet again. The man must have gone to bed to take a nap or something.

"Damn! How can I treat my bruises if my wrists were still tied together?" Sawamura murmured.

He couldn't see clearly because of darkness but he could listen, sadly, there's no sound of car outside or even a voice of people passing by. Sawamara thought if he's going to get out of there alive, he had better do something while his body can. He didn't feel afraid, just mad and now he used that anger for strength. He took a deep breath and waited for his eyes to get used to the dark but they never, it was pitch black with not a crack of light getting in.

He walked slowly and found a small table, groped around on it hoping to find something to cut the rope about his wrists but nothing. He continued feeling his way around the wall and the basement seemed empty. It's funny how his mind imagines things when it's not sent any visual messages to translate. At every step, Sawamura thought he would fall into a deep chasm.

"Ugh!" Sawamura stopped as his body hit something cozy, he's not alone.

"Uhmm, who's there?" he asked in a slow voice.

There was no reply but Sawamura was certain there was somebody else here. He could just feel it.

"Hey, I know you're there..." he said.

Suddenly, someone cut the ropes off and they fell to the ground by Sawamura's feet. But there's a loud thud echoed above and he paused, listening for any other sounds. Maybe it came from outside the house. Afraid to move, Sawamura waited silently in the dark. Then, he heard someone speaking in whispered tones, and he had a feeling that there's someone was in front of him. He felt a cold sweat break out over his body and thought he would never escape the man who kidnapped him. It's dark, but Sawamura sees silhouette walking towards him. He thinks that this person is going to attack but he's wrong.

"You don't need to be afraid of me, Sawamura." Takashi softly said.

While Sawamura was still standing in the darkness, he reflected on the voice from earlier. It had been familiar to him and now he remembered where from. But he suddenly felt his phone vibrate against his leg and he scooped it out of his pocket immediately while his hands trembling and glanced and saw that it was Amahisa from Ichidaisan.

He stared at the name while the phone continued to vibrate. Wondering what it was Amahisa could want again from him, but he suddenly snapped back into reality and answer the phone right away to call for a help. His hand trembled as he brought the phone up to his ear.

"Hello? Hello?" Amahisa said.

"Thanks God, Amahisa! It's me Sawamura! Help me!" he said in a breathless rush.

"Sawamura? It's really you?! I can't hear you clearly." Amahisa said on the other line.

"Yeah, it's me! I have to keep my voice low so he wouldn't hear me! I've been kidnapped and I've been in this house a long time and I want to leave right now! Help me, Amahisa!" Sawamura said.

"Please stay calm, don't panic. I saw the news about you. We tried calling you, but you didn't answer the phone. I tried to call again and I'm glad I finally caught you...!" Amahisa sob.

"R-really?" Sawamura smiled.

"Yeah, I tried calling you since you went missing. I tried this morning a couple of times but I think your phone signal was weak but where are you now?" Amahisa asked.

"I-I don't know where... but the man named Kimura locked me down in the basement of his house. It's a small gray house with the number 1425 near the front red door." Sawamura said as he attempted to turn his head to inspect his surroundings, looking for anything he might use to locate him but it's too dark.

Amahisa quickly grabbed a sheet of paper and started writing down all the information to find his LINE-buddy, "Please tell me more Sawamura so I can write—"

Sawamura was about to say more when the phone suddenly cut for no reason. He checked the display and saw there were no signal bars.

"What happened?" Takashi puzzled.

"I'm not getting a signal." Sawamura replied, busy checking his phone.

"Do you think cell service has been interrupted?" Takashi asked.

"Could be." Sawamura replied.

"Could be we are in a dead spot?" Takashi asked again.

"I... I don't know—" Sawamura suddenly stopped.

He thought for a moment and remembered that there's someone in the basement too, but who's talking? He slowly lifting up the phone and used its small light to help him see. He scanned the basement and then felt as if someone was behind him. Sawamura turned around to see whom it was only to find a glowing orb, transparent and floating in the air in front of him.

"W-what is it?" Sawamura said, he's not afraid but just curious.

When Sawamura touch the orb, it was transformed into a figure. He realized it was a spirit of the young boy but the face was too blurry to be seen.

"It's like from a horror movie..." Sawamura gasped.

Once the figure looked human, the young boy was less transparent and almost real. In front of Sawamura, he saw Takashi, a young boy with blond hair and blue eyes wearing a baseball uniform, but he's pale as a ghost.

"I... I saw you in my dream! You look like Yuki-senpai!" Sawamura surprised.

"Yeah, Sawamura Eijun. My name is Takashi Hirofumi. I have warned you in your dream, but...but I'm here to help you."

"What—"

Sawamura felt lightheaded and darkness appeared at the edges of his vision. He hovered a moment like a drunk but began to sway and finally collapsed. Takashi ran in to catch him before Sawamura hit the ground. His phone dropped like a rock and hit the floor but there's no damage.

Takashi took a deep breath and sighed a sigh of relief that Sawamura's phone was still fine. He needed to hide it somewhere before that bastard guy saw it. He want to wake Sawamura to help him escape now but decided to let him sleep because he is exhausted. He had no expression when he saw Sawamura's bruises on his face, they're still painful by this time and no wonder why he collapsed. He raised Sawamura from the ground, half carried him to the floor with a blanket. He slowly brushed Sawamura's bangs off his forehead.

He remember when he saw Sawamura suffered from the man. He felt every blow as if he was the one receiving them. He knows he needed to do something that he couldn't stand by and watch the horror again. He was sent back to the earth to save and protect that boy. The man could beat Sawamura again, torture or kill him. He couldn't let that happen again, not when he promised he would protect him at all costs.


NOTE: Sorry, this chapter is boring but thank you for reading it x3