AN: Keeping it brief, I'm back. Read my profile for more details. This chapter is not for the faint of heart!
"... Whoa. They got bigger."
We froze where we stood, like thieves caught in the act. My heart thumped in suspense behind my chest while the rest of my body paused, not even breathing, waiting out the standstill. My first instinct was to run, but as scared and likely to get eaten as I was, I knew that was stupid; even Neru had the sense to keep quiet and stay where she was.
"... Kagamine, distract them." She whispered through clenched teeth.
"What?" I replied, almost too loudly. "I am not playing bait while you get away."
She threw me a cautious glance. "I'm not going anywhere, moron. Just keep them busy for a minute."
"How am I supposed to do that? Unless you've got a steak in that backpack, we've got to—"
"I do have something in my backpack." She interrupted, impatient. "If I move an inch, they'll tear me apart. So just trust me and do what I said so I can get it."
A feeling of relief spread over me for a brief second, knowing that Neru had an idea. Then came the dread that she wouldn't be able to get to her bag without a distraction. From me.
Think, Len, think. How do you distract a vicious, hostile animal waiting to tear you to shreds? Think, think, think...
Nothing came to mind. The dog closest to Neru growled and stared at her confidently, as if it had no doubts that it could destroy her if she moved a muscle. Five feet away from me, a second bulldog did the same, slightly smaller than the other. That didn't make it any less bold; I could see it gradually advance towards me, a few subtle but continuous inches after the last. Panic gripped my heart as it beated more erratically than ever. My mind drew a blank. I didn't have a plan to get out of this one.
No, no. You have think of something, anything. What do you know about dogs? They have a heightened sense of smell, heightened hearing... do they have good eyesight? Probably. But it's still an animal. We're human. What makes us better than them?
I took a deep, reluctant breath. It was dark, I could barely make out their eyes, but I felt seething, bitter glares clawing into me just as they would if my idea failed. Irresolution rumbled in my nerves. Don't think about it too much, just do it. I assured myself. Neru only needs a few seconds.
So I shoved my hesitancy down my throat and made a dash for the forest from which we'd come.
The dogs didn't even take a second to start following me. Barks came barreling one after the other in ferocious pursuit. I knew that I didn't have a chance of outrunning them, but being fast wasn't my plan. I just needed to wait until the moment when both of the dogs were an inch or two behind me and, hopefully, get lucky.
Every ounce of energy I had I channeled to my legs and sprinted to just barely evade them. Clumsily, I fumbled for my jacket zipper and wasted no time pulling it down and yanking it off of my shoulders. I didn't think about what would happen to me if my next move failed and, closing my eyes, tossed my jacket to the far left while I dove to the right. On impact with the grass I groaned and tumbled and shielded my face, bracing myself as I rolled for the bulldog's impending attack.
But it didn't come.
My thundering heart relaxed just little. It worked. By throwing away my jacket, their noses picked up the scent and blindly followed it in whatever direction it went. As a bonus, rolling around in the grass would, well, make me smell grass, and thus mask the scent of a human that those dogs were after.
"Thank God," I sighed quietly, overcome with relief. Peeking from my arms, I saw the dogs mercilessly tearing my jacket to little bits and pieces. Better it than me.
Still in front of the house, Neru wildly gestured for me to come back. Her backpack was on the ground and something silvery was clutched tightly in her hand. I nodded and pushed myself off of the grass.
What I didn't think of is how fast two enormous dogs could destroy a single jacket. I started off running back to Neru, never taking my eyes off the dogs for a second (even if I was virtually blind in the dark), and stopped suddenly. The violent ripping, shredding noises had ceased.
And it occurred to me that dogs probably have a sixth sense for detecting movement. Especially guard dogs.
The chase began again. A fiery ache burned in my chest, still exhausted from hour after hour of biking and surfing through the woods (I'm not out of shape, am I?). All I could depend on was whatever Neru took out of her bag.
Just as I was about to call out to her, I was tackled by the larger dog and sunk to the ground like a rock. I couldn't get up, my face shoveled in the grass by its weight. Even as I struggled, it clung to the hem of my shirt, obstinate and unyielding. Growls through mouthfuls of cloth and ripping seams were all I heard, and I still couldn't shake it off. The smaller bulldog eagerly joined in on the Tear-Len-To-Pieces-Parade by taking a wide, generous chomp of my forearm.
"Ugh!" I bit my lip, screaming silently through clenched teeth as moist and sharp bones dug into my skin. "Akita, come on!"
And as I shouted, I peeked in her direction. My heart dropped.
A man in black had her forced to the ground, holding her hands behind her back while she kicked violently. He didn't look anything like Hatsune's guards from before with his ski cap and thin, fully clothed body. Neru flailed beneath him, her yells muffled in the grass and dirt from which she groveled. The man held something close to his ear, I assumed a phone, and spoke something I couldn't hear with the distance separating us. And then he took off her jacket.
Neru screeched even louder.
A strange, sudden feeling formed in my chest. I got mad. I felt anger pulse through every vein in my body, pumping with adrenaline. I turned to my side and pushed the small dog away from my arm. The other fell off of my back, but was soon to rebound and go for my leg. I pulled away in time then, quickly, curled myself into a ball and rolled out of the way. My forearm took on a reddish color and stung where I'd been bitten, it could've been bleeding, yet I totally ignored it and sprung to my feet. Promptly, I ran, sprinted to the man and Neru, my fist raised, the dogs behind me, hearing nothing but fast wind flitting past my ears as I came and knocked him in the side of his face, right when he noticed me emerge from the darkness. He got slammed hard against the side of the house, tumbling to the ground and I kicked him in the stomach. The man groaned and gasped for air. Blood trickled from his mouth and his nose, he reached for something in his pocket with shaking, gloved hands, but I stomped on his fingers and crushed them into the dirt. I didn't hear him scream.
Injured, he was sprawled out on the grass, moaning, and still fighting to get back up. I was about to kick him a second time when Neru appeared next to me, her face hidden by her long, disheveled bangs and a spray can clutched tightly in her hand. She shoved past me and loomed above the man in silence, staring at him, and stepped on his chest. His arms gave way below him as he'd attempted to get to his feet under the pressure. And still, without saying a word, held the bottle of pepper spray to his face and pressed the nozzle. I didn't want to watch, so I turned away and tried to tune out his wails of pain.
For a moment I was worried about the dogs, but I caught a glint of metal next to her discarded backpack. A dog whistle. They were nowhere to be seen.
He passed out not too much later. I told myself the worst was over and allowed myself to calm, take deep breaths and relax my tense body. The bite in my arm took priority now that the immediate threat was gone, and the pain caught up tenfold since I'd been ignoring it for so long. It was alarmingly bloody, not just my arm, but my hands, shirt, and shoes, too. I wondered, just how much of this blood belongs to me?
Neru plopped down near the exterior of the house and stayed quiet. I did the same and sat next to her with my hands at my sides. We were only an inch apart, close enough to hear each other's heavy, quick breaths slowly become steady.
"Thanks." She said softly, deliberately not facing me.
"Yeah..." I answered. "Are you okay?"
"... Yeah."
My hand rested on top of hers. Oddly, both of us were okay with it, and I think I know why. There's a weird sense of safety in holding someone else's hand, and we needed it, because we'd never been more scared in our lives.
...
"Alright, we're done. Akita, we're going back." I announced after some time of necessary silence. Neru had torn off a piece of my shirt without asking and made use of it as a bandage for my arm. It wasn't of much use; red seeped through it like water over paper. It was who knows how late, my bare skin defenseless against the cold night air after the death of my jacket. Didn't think the consequences through when I fed it to the dogs.
"What?" She looked at me. "Are you kidding? We're not going anywhere."
I folded my arms adamantly and stared. "Yeah, we are. This was a bad idea from the start. We're already beat up and we're not even inside yet. Usually, that's a sign to quit before it gets any worse."
I saw anger flare in her eyes. "No." Her voice raised. "Haku and your sister are still in there!"
"I know that," I said. "But what are we supposed to do? We're not superheroes. We're two kids, one who almost got eaten by dogs, one who was... Well, you—"
"Say another word and I'll end you, Kagamine." She warned, her face stony as she gave me a deadly fist.
"Alright, alright, but you can't deny that we're just not cut out for this. ... Whatever this is."
"Who cares?" Neru, furrowing her brows, stood up and glowered down at me. "No one else is gonna help us. Not the police, not our parents, no one. This is up to us, and if you wanna walk away even after we got this far, then get out of my way." She began to gather the objects that had fallen out of her bag.
"You're joking, right?" Moving to stand up and lean against the house, I stared at her sideways. "I'm the one that got us this far. I'm the one who had to carry you home, wake you up, bike us here, and distract those dogs. All you've done is sleep and blow a whistle. You won't get anywhere without me."
"Yeah?" She sneered. "Watch me." Neru promptly stomped past me and marched to the pile of bricks from before. Instead of picking them up one by one she kicked them off at the heel of her boots, resulting in a thud onto the dirt. At her initial success a cheeky smirk appeared on her face, probably directed at me, until the heel broke off. Predictably, she switched to the other, and after a few kicks it broke off, too. So, Neru tried to do as I did before and just lift the brick; failure.
"Not gonna work." I stated a bit smugly. "And you won't be able to get home without my help, either. Come on."
"Y'know what, Kagamine?" I watched her turn and walk up really close, face-to-chin, since she's a few inches shorter, and poke an accusing finger in my chest. Her eyes narrowed, a judgemental scowl fixed on me. "You're the exact kind of guy I hate. Get lost."
And she resumed to her futile attempts at getting rid of the bricks.
I didn't know how to feel about it. I mean, Neru and I weren't friends. I didn't want anything to do with her when I first saw her on the bus. I should hate her a little. Why was I the bad guy? For being perfectly logical and valuing my own life? It was then when I decided that I didn't like Neru.
And yet it still stung, hearing her say she hated me. No one's ever had a reason to legitimately hate me before. I don't get involved in drama or start fights or steal girlfriends. I've said it before, but I don't stand out much at school. I mind my own business, and that's always worked perfectly fine. So, hearing Neru say that... it didn't feel good. I felt like I needed to fix it, so I tried reasoning with the unreasonable.
"Look, I'm not trying to belittle you or make you feel weak. What I'm saying is, we just can't do this. It's too dangerous and too risky. Why don't you get that?"
No response.
"Ignoring me won't get rid of those bricks."
Nothing.
"Alright, I'm leaving. Have fun staying out here all nig—"
"That guy," Neru pointed at the unconscious man behind me without looking. "Is a trafficker. I heard him talking on his phone. He and his friends are gonna kidnap Miku and sell her to whatever pervert will pay the highest for her. He was gonna take me, and he'll take Haku and your sister if he gets the chance, too. I don't give a damn if you think it's too dangerous or too risky. By the time you think of something else to do, they'll be long gone."
I stiffened. Just what are you supposed to say to that?
She wasn't finished talking. "And that's why I can't go back. If you wanna leave, go. I don't care. Just move these god damned things and I'll rescue them."
I didn't say anything for a minute or two, thinking over our options.I thought about knocking on the front door and telling Hatsune herself, but she wouldn't believe us and have her male swimsuit model guards shove us in a cage or something. The best Neru and I could do was to get Rin and her friend out by breaking in. But wouldn't that just be leaving Hatsune (and all of the maids that I'm certain she has) to the wolves? Isn't that cruel?
"Did he... say when the rest of his friends would be getting here?"
"No. I would've found out more if you hadn't knocked him out so quickly." She bitterly murmured.
"Whatever." I said. "Try looking around for his phone. I might be able to find out something important."
That was something we were able to agree on. Neru left the bricks to be and joined me in searching through the grass. We spent a few minutes combing through until she found it underneath the unconscious body (gross). With a wipe of her hands on her jeans she tossed it to me and said, "You do it. I'm gonna check out something else."
"Like what?"
"It doesn't matter! Just do it already." She waved me away and went to collect her backpack and the items that had fallen from it.
I rolled my eyes, focusing on the phone in my hand. It had a little crack on the screen, but otherwise I could get it to work. The bright screen light felt refreshing after meandering about in the night for so long. The password to access the phone I'd been worrying about didn't exist, so I went ahead and pressed the "on" button.
Kurohaya Mwinga
Call Ended 18 minutes ago
ReDial?
"Kurohaya Mwinga..." I read. "What kind of name is Mwinga?"
I opened up his text messages and found that every single one of them was in a language other than Japanese. I recognized Chinese and Korean, but the rest of them I couldn't even tell what language they were. Frustrated, I checked the time. 1:27 AM.
Wait, dad!
I'd forgotten all about him. He was on his way now, giving us only an hour or so left until he arrives. We can't go back; he'll be coming here, expecting Rin and I ready to go.
I had to make a decision, and soon. Leaving was no longer an option (it never really was in the first place), and going inside Hatsune's house was extremely risky. I'd wanted dad to be a back up, just in case we needed a quick get-away or something, but I didn't anticipate us taking so long. What could I do?
A stupid idea popped into my head.
I punched in a string of numbers into the phone. It rang for a few seconds.
"Hello?"
I recognized the low, only slightly monotone voice. "Dad."
"Who is this?"
"It's Len. Listen, Rin and I are getting a ride from a classmate after all. We're about to leave now."
"... Oh. Well, um, good. I was just about to start driving there." He coughed awkwardly.
I almost dropped the phone. "Wait. You didn't leave the house yet?"
"There was some important paperwork I needed to finish first."
More important than your kids?
I didn't waste energy getting upset about it. This always happens; my dad's job is his entire life. Sometimes he gets so engrossed in his work that he tunes out everything else in the world. He forgot our birthday once, mine and Rin's. Sometimes I forget how unreliable he can be.
But I didn't get upset, no. No matter how I feel, nothing will change, so it's pointless. I learned that lesson years ago.
Still, as much as I told myself it didn't matter, it didn't sit well, being a second priority.
"Okay. Bye." was all I could say to him. I hung up.
Neru seemed just about done with whatever it was she was doing. Her backpack was over her shoulders again as she leaned against the walls, waiting for me if nothing else. With no where else to put it, I shoved the phone in my pocket and headed over to her.
"I just called my dad," I said. "He's not gonna come."
Predictably, she didn't really care. "Good. Now, let's go in already."
"Wait, hold on. That Haku, what about her parents? Wouldn't they have called the police by now?"
"What? No way." Neru scowled like I asked something ridiculous. "I bet they haven't even noticed she's gone."
"Wh..." I didn't understand how that was possible. Even my dad would've noticed Rin and I missing. "It's been, what, seven or eight hours since this happened. How could her parents not notice?"
"Obviously, you don't know anything. Haku's parents aren't like that."
"Like... what?" I didn't understand.
"What's it to you? You don't know Haku." Her fingers tightened around the bag's strap. "I said it wasn't a problem, so it's not a problem. Come on."
So that's a secret, too? I wondered. Neru kept just a few too many things to herself for comfort, for reasons I didn't get. What's the harm in telling me about her friend's parents?
She had the flashlight in her hand, turned on, pointed at the same pile of bricks. "Get to it!" She barked in a commanding, ungrateful manner. "Wasted too much time with your second-guessing."
If she had been any ruder I'd have changed my mind, but she was right. There was no time for hesitancy or indecisiveness or anything else. Before I caught a cold from being out there, freezing with no jacket anymore, I got to work on disassembling the bricks. One after the other I picked them up and put them down as they became heavier with worsening fatigue. Neru was of no help except for the light, yawning and complaining over our circumstances.
It wasn't my ideal night, unstacking bricks in the cold with a whiney girl who hates me.