Chapter 8
SAWAMURA'S MEMORY PROBLEM
The next thing Sawamura knew he was waking up in the basement on a dirty blanket. It looked like it was morning because the light was coming from the side of the house. He also realized he was still in the same clothes. Sawamura stood up and found the old sink in the corner, he went over there and turned on the water to drink a little bit.
"Yuck! The water tastes like rust!" He cried.
Sawamura decided to check and see if the door was locked or unlocked so he climbed the stairs carefully and tried the knob. It turned but the kidnapper must have put something against the door because it didn't budge. He pushed harder but it sill didn't move. All he could do is go back down the steps, look around the basement and wait for the man to let him out. But Sawamura found the lights switch chain hanging in the middle of the room so he pulled it immediately but the light didn't turn on.
"Sawamura, checked the bulb if it was loose."
"Huh? Sawamura? Who? Me?" Sawamura confused, talking to himself.
"Yes, you are. What's wrong?"
Sawamura jumped when he heard a voice behind him.
He turned around and said "Y-You? The g-ghost, right?"
"Yeah, are you okay now?" Takashi asked him and Sawamura nodded his head.
"Wait—what happened to me?" Sawamura asked.
"You suddenly collapsed and I catch you." Takashi replied.
"What? How's that possible? Ghosts can't touch humans." Sawamura confused.
"Well, that was ghost fact but we can touch clothes." Takashi smiled.
"Really? Oh, I guess it is possible." Sawamura said.
"Are you sure you're okay now? Do you still have a fever?" Takashi asked again.
Even though Takashi is already dead, he really cared for Sawamura. He didn't want anything bad to happen again to the pitcher under his care.
"T-thank you for asking," Sawamura looked at him, "I think my fever broke last night? I don't know but I'm really okay now."
"That's good! By the way, that bastard went outside just a minute ago. You have to escape now." Takashi said with serious eyes. "You should tighten the light bulb now, Sawamura." Takashi added.
"Oh, okay..!" Sawamura began to feel nervous.
Now Sawamura can see what was down here. On second thought, Sawamura could see Takashi's whole body but it was transparent. He began to wonder why he's not afraid of him because Takashi is a ghost. Oh well, at least Sawamura have someone accompany him now.
"That's better." Takashi said.
"What do we do now?" Sawamura's brain was scrambled.
"Calm down. We have to—" Takashi paused "I mean, you have to escape from that bastard as soon as possible."
"But...but... why do you put your time here just to help me? You should resting now in heaven, right?" Sawamura said with genuine concern in his eyes.
Takashi took a deep breath, he wasn't sure how to respond to that, but he tried.
"It's because I couldn't stand to watch anything bad happen to you, because it was like it was happening to me too." Takashi replied.
Takashi checked the blanket to look for something and found Sawamura's phone under the pillow. He told Sawamura to grab it and try to call someone for help.
"Yes! I've got a signal!" Sawamura cried.
"Lower your voice..." Takashi said.
"Sorry! I have a signal, Takashi-kun." The pitcher said that made Takashi's heart jump when Sawamura mentioned his name.
The cell phone displayed two bar of battery life, no telling how long the signal would last before the phone died for good. Sawamura tried to dial 119 on his cell phone but his hands were shaking and he had to try several times before he got it right.
"Hahaha! Hello?"
"Hello? Is this the police? I've been kidnapped. My name is..." Sawamura suddenly stopped but there was a hesitant voice on the other side.
"Uhmm, I'm sorry! I think you've dialed the wrong number! This is my father's phone! Hahaha!"
"Eh? I'm sorry!" Sawamura said awkwardly and hung up immediately.
He told Takashi that he dialed the number wrong but Sawamura thought the voice and the laugh was familiar but he was not able to recall whose it was.
"Maybe he's just pranking you, Sawamura." Takashi said.
"What? Really?" Sawamura frowned.
Sawamura stared at the phone screen for a few seconds and he said, "Takashi-kun, I suddenly can't remember my name?"
Takashi turned to him and said, "What are talking about? Are you serious?"
Sawamura stared at him in shock, he could feel the blood drain from his face. He wanted to ask Takashi why he had suddenly become forgetful. He's so sure that there are so many people who have been a source of encouragement for him but now he's afraid that he will forget everyone. He suddenly felt so sad that he starts to think about his family and friend but why he can't remember their face and even their name now. Is it because of the cell wall of Pneumonia-bacteria that can cause damage to his brain or because of head injury he suffered from the kidnapper?
Takashi's mouth opened and closed several times before he was finally able to say, "You're name is Eijun Sawamura. Don't forget about that."
Sawamura nodded and wiped his small tears with his sleeve. He takes a deep breath to relax his body and he dialed the number again. Three signals went by, until someone picked up.
"Hello?" Sawamura whispered, "I've been kidnapped. My name is E—"
"Hahaha! You have dialed the wrong number again. You have to dial 119 to talk with the police!"
"But, that's what I have dialed." Sawamura confused.
"Well, I don't know. Maybe there's something wrong with the phone. This is Todoroki Raizou's phone!"
"Okay, I'm sorry again." Sawamura said.
"Hahaha! No worries!"
Then Sawamura hung up. Takashi told Sawamura that he hated technology and it could not even call the police with the cell phone. Sawamura smiled and dialed again, waited until someone picked up.
"Hello? Is this the police?"
"Hahaha! No!" the voice on the other side yelled, "You are still calling the same number! Don't call here ever again, idiot!"
"Hey! You don't have to be so rude. I'm just trying to get in touch with the police." Sawamura said defensively.
"Hahaha! I don't care! I'm in the middle of batting practice! If you call here again, I will be the one that calls the police!"
"Well, then maybe I should call again." Sawamura said.
"Okay! Go ahead and do it! Hahaha!"
"I will!" Sawamura said defiantly and hung up.
But when he called 119 again, no one answered. He tried again but no one picked up. So now he couldn't call the police because every time he tried, he ended up at some strange boy that always laughing without reason. So he put back his cellphone under the pillow and started to walk around the basement and he found a door back in the corner.
"Look, Takashi!"
There were some boards stacked in front of it so he moved the boards. When he got the door free of debris, he tried to opening it and discovered it was locked.
"Damn!" Sawamura said.
"We're on the inside so you should be able to take some screws out of the door knob and take it off." Takashi said.
"Can you open the door for me please?" Sawamura looked at Takashi and said he can't open the door but he found a screwdriver.
By that time, Sawamura figured, it was late morning. As he continued to work the lock loosened enough where the knob released. Taking a stick, Sawamura pushed the lock through the hole and it fell out the other side.
"Hey, it's weird. He's still not coming back. I'm afraid he's standing somewhere—watching me." Sawamura said, there's a sound of fear in his voice.
"Don't worry. I'm here." Takashi tried to comfort the pitcher.
The door was old and warped and it was very tight in its frame. Sawamura grab the blanket to cover the sharp edges of the hole and pulled on the door until it started opening.
"Just a little farther...!" Sawamura said as he pulled and finally it came free.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!"
Sawamura about jumped out of his skin. The man stood behind him, watching his struggle to open the door. His heart pounded, too hard, too fast.
"T-Takashi-kun!" Sawamura cried, he noticed Takashi was gone.
He feels betrayed by his ghost friend who once made him feel safe and now he's alone with the kidnapper.
The man named Kimura punched him in the face and Sawamura howled in pain. Then he jerked Sawamura by the arm and dragged him toward the steps then on upstairs. He had a chair setting in the middle of the kitchen floor and he shoved Sawamura into it. He grabbed a rope on the kitchen counter and tied Sawamura into the chair. Panicking the brunette tried to fight him. He immediately back-handed the young boy and Sawamura quit struggling and the man finished trying him up.
"Please sir, let me go! I didn't do anything bad!" Sawamura begged.
"Shut up, or I'll put duct tape over your mouth!" Kimura snapped.
He left the room and Sawamura heard the red front door slam. In a few minutes he returned with some chain and a metal latch and Sawamura's eyes widened. The man knelt beside the boy and started to buckle something to the brunette's ankle. Then he attached one end of the chain to the metal plate he had installed in the floor and the other end to the ankle cuff, securing it with a lock.
"Now you aren't going anywhere that I don't want you to. If you calm down, I'll let you go, Eijun." Kimura smiled.
Sawamura just nodded and looked up at the man waiting submissively. Kimura walked over to the table and opened a box of Chinese fried rice. Aromas drifted up into the air and to Sawamura's nose. The man grabbed a glass from the cupboard and then went to the fridge and filled it up with fresh water.
He set both of those items in front of Sawamura and said, "If you do what I tell you, you get eat this whole box of fried rice and more. Plus, you can drink all you want."
Sawamura fearing for his safety, he agreed to the man's demand. He nodded in assent and waited for the man to finish stating his demands.
"Don't try to get away again or I'll kill you right now. Do what I tell you to do, when I tell you to do it and don't question me. Got that?!" Kimura smirked.
Sawamura nodded again. Trembling, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"Oh, Eijun, please don't cry. You know I hate it when you cry." Kimura smiled and walked closer to the young boy.
"Look, you've got a bruise on your cute face because of me." Caressing Sawamura's cheeks with his thumbs, he added, "I've been wanting to touch you all day, Eijun."
Sawamura's trembling even more when the man slowly unzipped his pants, slid the pants off and threw them to his side. The pitcher is afraid he is going to be raped by this man so he closed his eyes and prayed and prayed but when he opened them, the man was still smiling at him.
"Don't worry," he said, "I'm not going to rape you... at least I don't think I am."
Sawamura fix his glance on the floor, tears falling to his pants, soaking into the garment almost as soon they hit.
"I will let you stay up here and out of the basement as long as you remember what I've just told you. If you don't, you will live in the basement, permanent. Understand?" Kimura said.
Sawamura slowly nodded, feeling beaten, he dropped his eyes and just sat there with tears still rolling down his face while the man walked to his room to change.
Several hours passed, the sun was beginning to set and the wide sky was turning shades of pink and red and orange. Seto and Okumura sitting inside a convenience store, concerned about their senpais' whereabouts. After school, the two first years decided to go to the city to find their senpai with the head coach's approval since most of them are trying to find Sawamura.
"He's definitely a kidnapper. I haven't seen that old man for a few days now, Taku." Okumura said.
"We don't have any evidence, Koushuu." Seto said to his friend.
He took half the sandwich from its plastic wrapping and give it to the blond hair. Okumura accepted the food. He sunk his teeth into the sandwich and bit off a piece.
"Don't get me wrong," Okumura said, "I think that old man is crazy as a loon."
"We can go with your hunch. I trust it." Seto told him.
Their eyes staring out of the window of the convenience store. There were so many people walking around outside the store. Scanning the crowd to find their senpai, hoping to see him there but it's not.
"You think we're going to find Sawamura-senpai?" Seto asked.
"We sure as hell better." Okumura replied.
"You think he's over here somewhere?" Seto asked again but Okumura didn't reply.
After the long silence that followed, Seto started to clean up the mess and throw them in the garbage can. He gave Okumura a quick nod signals to indicate he was ready to go. Half hour later, the two first year hadn't found Sawamura. The worry gnawed at Okumura like a plague of infested rats. He tried not to think he'd lost his senpai like he had Takashi, his old neighbor who teach him about baseball. Takashi is like a big brother to him, but the thought bagged at him anyway. However, darkness fell underneath a cloudy sky with still no sign of Sawamura.
Seto decided to call a taxi and asked if they could take them to Seidou dormitory.
"Koushuu, come on, let's go home. Our senpai are probably looking for us by now." Seto said, the tiredness in his eyes creeping into his voice.
"Just give me more time, Taku. Please." Okumura said.
"Koushuu, are you crazy?" Seto said walking closer to his friend.
"If you want, you can go home now. I'm fine here by myself." Okumura said.
Seto scoffed at his friend, "You can't stay here all night, Koushuu!"
"Sure I can. You can go. I'll be fine. Really there is a sense of something here." Okumura said.
"What?" Seto confused.
"I will find him. I won't leave Sawamura-senpai to die alone."
Seto took a deep breath and considered his friend's words seriously then patted Okumura's shoulder. "I've a better idea. I'll be right back. Promise me you'll stay put."
Okumura nodded, "I'll be here or just call me."
"Okay, be careful." Seto got in and he waved to Okumura as the taxi drove away.
The wolf boy kept walking along the side of the highway, scanning every corner. Okumura put on his school blazer uniform and continued walking. He had not think of leaving Seto but he had a lot of things to think about, as he was walking he bumped into someone. He was about to apologized but when he look up he was surprised to see a familiar face.
"Hey! You're from Seidou High School, right?" Amahisa surprised.
"Yes, and you are Amahisa-san from Sankou. Sawamura-senpai's line buddy." Okumura bowed his head to show respect from a senior but the blond boy doesn't look happy, Amahisa can almost feel the anger radiating off him.
"Y-You don't have to do that." Amahisa bowed too, "By the way, what are you doing in this place? Why are you here?"
Okumura looked at him now and said, "I'm looking for Sawamura-senpai."
Amahisa gasped in surprise, relieved to find that he was not alone for searching Sawamura,"I'm looking for him, too."
"Really?" Okumura's expression softens.
"Yes. Actually, I talked to Sawamura on the phone last night and he gave some clue to his whereabouts." Amahisa said.
Okumura stared at him, his eyes wide and his mouth open, "Really? What did he say?!"
"Let's just sit down." Amahisa said and Okumura nodded.
Once seated, Amahisa continued the conversation, "The kidnapper name is Kimura and he locked Sawamura down in the basement of his house."
There's a worried look on Okumura's face while listening, "Okay, continue, senpai."
Amahisa inhaled deeply, then continued talking in a powerful voice, "The kidnapper's house is small. It's a small gray house with number 1425 near the red door. That's all I've got since the line was cut and... that's why I'm here. Just in case I might find that house."
For a few seconds, they're just stare at one another, then Okumura speak up first, "I think I know that house... I think I had seen it before.."
"Oh God! Really? Where?" Amahisa's heart was racing so fast that he thought he was going to have a heart attack.
"...and maybe the man who took Sawamura-senpai is..." Okumura stared up into the night sky, looking at the star.
He suddenly stood up from the bench and started to dash away then Amahisa followed him, "Wait! What's your name?"
NOTE: Sorry for the loooooong update. Actually I don't want to continue this anymore but I've always got messages from readers saying I should continue this so here...hehe! Thank you for reading this fanfic, I'm glad you like it. ^^
