Hiruma had explained that "camp" was where "the others" were "training", but no more than that.
They had then driven for what seemed like ages to Sena, who had never left the town limits before, never seen the houses and buildings shrinking behind him, as the distant mountain equally loomed larger and larger in the windshield. It was no longer distant by the time they came to a stop at what seemed to be a run-down inn a ways off the main road. The windows were dingy and some cracked, and all the letters on the yellowed sign out front had fallen out around its base, like snow. They were the only car in the whole parking lot, besides a monster of an RV parked horizontally across several spaces that looked like it hadn't moved in years.
Shutting the engine, Hiruma turned to glare expectantly at Sena, or rather the empty wrapper he was holding.
Sena, who couldn't remember the last time he'd felt full two days in a row, scrambled to grab a second energy bar from the box in his lap, before he could get yelled at again.
In the rush of getting ready to leave, his master hadn't been pleased to discover the uneaten oatmeal and protein shake in the fridge. Sena hadn't known how to explain himself, but somehow he hadn't been hit, or even told that if he wasn't going to eat as ordered, he wouldn't get food at all.
Instead he had spent the whole ride chomping on bananas and energy bars in penance. At his feet were the empty shake bottle, and a bag that was now mostly banana peels. His jaw was actually starting to ache from chewing. He hadn't even known that could happen.
As Sena hastily unwrapped the new bar, Hiruma broke off a piece from it, and popped it in his own mouth. "Stay here," he said, chewing, as he climbed out of the car and stretched his lanky frame. Instead of entering the inn, Hiruma walked around it, and onto some sort of trailhead that seemed to lead up into the mountains.
Once Hiruma had disappeared from view, Sena stopped to give his jaw a rest. There was something thrilling about being so far outside the town where he'd spent his entire life. He'd never been this close to the mountain before, though it had always been visible in the distance, when he'd been allowed outdoors. Up close, it was both imposing and majestic, like you might zoom out and find out that what had been the whole world to you, a car, a house, a town, was really just a measly speck perched on a much vaster planet. Near the trail that Hiruma had taken, there was even a sign about mountain lions, which Sena studied carefully, wondering if wild animals ever came into parking lots like this one.
As if summoned by the thought, there was a sudden rustle as an animal dashed out of a nearby bush.
No, not an animal—the short figure was wearing some sort of sports uniform. He scurried over to the car, opened the driver's side door, and climbed in, all while looking over his shoulder.
"All right, caught my ride out of here—huh?" Finally turning and seeing Sena for the first time, he fell back with a squawk, as if Sena had been the one sneaking around, rather than just sitting frozen on the adjacent seat the whole time. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Sena, who thought the questions were more appropriate for the guy who had burst out of the bushes and hijacked a car, felt a budding fear. He couldn't afford to get into trouble again so soon. There was only so much patience in the universe for someone like him, and he felt sure he was already in the negative.
"You came here with that Hiruma," said the intruder, eyes narrowing. "Did he kidnap you too? Fine, we'll get out of here together. Er... do you know where the keys are?"
"Kidnap?" If this guy—was he even old enough to drive?—drove off with Sena in the car, then that would be the true kidnapping, or at least theft of property. "We can't do that! Aren't you a slave too?" It was the only conclusion that Sena could come up with. The realization struck him with a new horror. If he was in the car when this other slave used it to make his getaway, Sena would look complicit. He had promised he wouldn't run. He scrabbled furiously at his door, resolving to throw himself out of the car if he had to, even if it was moving.
"Ha! No man can own the great Raimon Tarou, number one receiver in the world!" Then the great Raimon Tarou seemed to deflate a bit. "I mean, that evil Hiruma seems to think he can. He says my parents sold me, but they would never do that, never! Hiruma kidnapped me, and brought me here, and has me catch stupid footballs all day long. Footballs! I'm a baseball player!"
"Umm... Raimon..." said Sena nervously.
"Now come on, where did he put the keys? We can be out of here before he even notices that we're gone—"
"Raimon!" Sena all but shrieked. There was a different mountain in the windshield now, an enormous rotund man wearing the same uniform as Raimon, except his eclipsed the entire sky.
Raimon looked up, eyes widening. "Oh no, that's—"
The giant came over to Sena's side of the car ("why me," he whimpered), and it was a surprise that the earth didn't shake under each enormous step. He opened the door with a massive hand and Sena only had enough time to whimper, "I wasn't trying to—" before being pulled out bodily and crushed into a massive hug.
"You must be the new running back!" the giant was saying, while proceeding to squeeze the life out of him. "I'm so happy to meet you!"
After his life had finished flashing before his eyes, Sena found that he could still breathe, just barely. The giant had released him slightly to peer down into the car. "Oh, Monta? How did you get here already? Hiruma only just told us he was here..."
"Yes, what are you doing here?" Hiruma's razor-sharp grin appeared in the driver's side window, as he leaned forward, one arm against the roof. "You must be eager to repeat the training from hell, is that it?"
"Oh no. Oh no, oh no." Raimon's hands patted the area around him frantically, as though hoping to magically land on the car keys.
Hiruma lifted up a hand and dangled the key chain teasingly from a hooked finger, letting it tap against the glass. "Get out, you fucking monkey. If I have to drag you, I'll make you regret it."
"Please do it, Raimon," Sena begged, still trapped in the giant's grasp. Between being squeezed to death by this monstrous body, or being grinned at like that by his master, he found himself much more terrified for Raimon's situation.
Hiruma looked up at Sena, and then took a step back to open the car door, sweeping his arm out in a mocking invitation. "Put him down, you fucking fatty," he added to the giant, "before you crush him."
As the giant gently set Sena on his feet, Raimon unerringly snatched the last banana from among all the empty peels with a, "Fine!" He leaped out of the car, striking a pose with the banana, or maybe using it to point accusingly at Hiruma. "You got me this time! But I'll escape someday!" Defiantly, he peeled the banana and took a big bite, chewing right in Hiruma's face as he stomped past.
Shocked at this behavior, Sena automatically began to kneel down, as if showing enough submissiveness might buy both of them some lenience.
"Walk," Hiruma snapped, "both of you," and slammed the car door.