The atmosphere inside the car was tense. For the most part, the journey had been in silence. The two children in the back had fallen asleep not that long ago, Kisumi going first and Makoto following shortly after.
At the wheel, Rin seemed to be glaring at the road ahead of him. His red eyes had dark black circles underneath them. He was tired, but he couldn't falter now. He needed to save Haru.
"Hey Rin," a deep voice mumbled from the seat next to him. "I wanna talk to you about something, but I'm not sure now is the time."
Rin let out a soft sigh. "Talk if you want too. It'll help keep my mind off... Things."
Sousuke shuffled in his seat, turning his head from the widow to the red haired man driving. "I think... I think I want to adopt Kisumi."
"Huh?" Rin said too loudly, his head shooting over to look at Sousuke, causing him to swerve the car.
"Fuck Rin!"
"Sorry! Sorry, just Christ what?"
"I want to adopt Kisumi, Rin." He glanced back at the sleeping child in the back of the car. "Momo and I... We know it's kind of fast but we were maybe thinking about children."
"Holy shit man, congratulations! I... Wow."
Sousuke let out a soft laugh "I know it's not the time to bring it up. We finally... I don't know, we finally know what we want now? If that makes sense. And after all this shit goes down," Sousuke glanced into the back of the car. "He's going to need a family."
Rin smiled softly. "That's nice, it'll be good for the kid to have a nice family. And good for you guys too."
They continued on for a while in silence. Until Rin spoke up again. "You know if you hadn't offered, I was going to. He's a good kid. He doesn't deserve this," Rin sighed. "No one deserves this."
"Rin he's going to be fine. Haru is a tough guy." Sousuke said, trying to comfort the red eyed man.
"I know he's tough, but it doesn't matter. I… I can't have him hurt. Who knows what those… those… sick freaks will do to him?" Rin gripped the wheel tighter.
"Hey," Sousuke placed a hand on Rin's shoulder. "We've got the police on our side, there's nothing those two can do to keep Haru."
Rin let out a soft breath. "You're right. I know you're right. I gotta… I gotta calm down."
"It's okay Rin, I'm feeling stressed about it too. But y'know, we caught this early. They must've only had Haru for about five hours. I'm sure they're just talking about things."
"Yeah." Rin replied, even if his gut told him a different story entirely.
It took about an hour for the four to reach the location. When the car stopped Rin immediately got out of the car mumbling to himself about the damn traffic.
From the back of the car Makoto and Kisumi had begun to stir in their seats, eyes slowly fluttering open, both of them glancing around at the new surroundings when they remembered where they were and why they were there.
Sousuke opened the back door to let the children out. "Kisumi, this is the place yeah?"
The candyfloss haired child nodded. "Mhm, I remember coming here. It was definitely here."
A shimmer of hope passed through Rin's eyes as he looked over the different pathways. "Then which way?" Rin asked.
"Kisumi," Sousuke started, crouching down to Kisumi's level. "I know it may be a bit scary and you may be feeling confused or sad right now, but you need to lead us to where you stayed. Do you think you can do that?"
There was a brief pause before the boy smiled a huge grin and nodded. "I'll do anything to help Haru!"
Sousuke and Rin smiled fondly at the boy. He'd been through so much and yet he was still standing strong. They both knew this child was a fighter, and right now Sousuke couldn't be prouder of the little boy.
The three followed Kisumi down a winded path that wasn't all that hard to follow. Rin felt his breathing get shallow. He was so scared. Scared of what he would find. Scared for his boyfriend. Scared that Haru wouldn't even be there. But he shook his head. He count think like that. He needed to stay optimistic.
Suddenly, Makoto stopped moving, causing Rin to bump into him. He was about to question why when he saw Kisumi's hand on the brunette's chest, stopping him. The purple eyed boys other hand was pointing into the distance. A fairly large cabin was only a short distance in front of them. It looked quaint and peaceful. But the four of them knew the monsters that hid inside.
Rin's eye widened as he moved to come out of where the trees hid them when he was pulled back by his t-shirt. He turned around angrily to look at Sousuke with a confused face.
"What the fuck?" He said aggressively.
"I need to notify the cops about the location. They'll be here anyway but no way will they find themselves through that maze. I need to tell them we're here. And we should wait for them anyway. There's no telling what they're capable of. We'll be risking both us and Haru if we bust in there like mad men." Sousuke said calmly.
Rin understood Sousuke's point of view and he knew it was the right thing to do. But when someone you love is in danger, you want to save them as fast as you can.
"I can't do that Sousuke. I need to get to him. I can't let him stay in there." Rin replied shrugging out of the larger mans grip.
"Rin-"
"What if it was Momo?" Rin said, tears forming in his eyes. "What if you didn't know where he was, or if he was okay? What would you do?" A single tear rolled down his cheek. "I understand what you're saying, but I can't just stand by and wait for someone else to help. I need to help him. I need to help him now."
Sousuke seemed to look at Rin with defiant eyes before he looked away from Rin and nodded. "Fine. But if you get hurt, I'll kill you." Sousuke gave Rin and encouraging smile before he got his phone out and rang his friend in the police force.
Rin didn't wait around to hear what Sousuke had to say, he was gone. He all but thundered up to the chestnut door and was about to slam his hand on the wood when he paused.
What was he going to say? They obviously knew what he looked like so it's not like he could fake to be someone. Crap, maybe Sousuke was right?
He was about to walk back to where the other guys were in the bushes when he heard a crash from inside. He acted before he could stop himself.
He banged hard on the door multiple times.
No plan and no idea what he was up against Rin waited for the door to be swung open. He noticed in the moments before the door opened that there was no peephole, so at least he had that on his side.
Abruptly and without warning the door opened to reveal a cheerful man with pink hair smiling, until he saw who he was smiling at.
"What the-" But before he could finish Rin had already acted, slamming his fist into the man's nose.
You know what they say, actions speak louder than words.
The male, who was without a doubt Kisumi's father, had fallen backwards and was now lying on the floor, the blow had obviously knocked him out in a second flat.
"Holy crap." Rin breathed out quietly as he moved inside of the house.
His heart was thumping on the inside of his chest madly. His head began to throb and his breathing was suddenly very shaky. He realised for the first time he was scared of the people inside this house. Maybe there were more than two of them? Like he said before, he hadn't quite fathomed a plan yet. Anything could happen.
"Honey? What's all that noise?" A soft female voice said before a woman appeared from the kitchen doorway. The red head knew from her vibrant purple eyes that she was the mother of Kisumi. She glanced down at her husband on the floor and then up to Rin, who was still in shock.
There was a moment where neither of them moved, an eerie silence swept across the room. But then the woman smiled and gave an evil grin. "Whoops." She whispered before she ran back into the kitchen.
"Stop!" Rin cried out as he stormed after her. He ran as fast as he could through a dining room, bumping into sporadic things along the way. He was at a slight disadvantage considering he didn't know the holiday homes layout like Kisumi's mother did. But he couldn't feel any pain from the objects anyway, there was too much adrenaline pumping though his body for him to feel minor things like that.
He could hear her laugh, which served to piss him off even more. He followed her into a kitchen; it was messy and unkempt with cabinets surrounding the room and a rather large rectangular table in the centre. The woman was on the other side of it. Rin practically growled.
"Oho feisty are we?" She said with a sly grin.
"Where is Haru?" Rin said, facing her from the opposite side of the table.
"Hmm, Haru… Haru… now, where do I know that name from?" She said gleefully.
"Don't get smart with me bitch." He spat.
"Woah, okay, first of all- calm down. I don't appreciate this kind of abuse. I have a name."
"I couldn't give less of a fuck about your name right now, where is Haru?" He yelled, slamming his hand on the table and moving around to get to her side. Sensing his movement Kaede also moved, meaning the two had switched sides.
"Ah that name again… No seriously, it's on the tip of my tongue!" She giggled.
"I'll kill you. I'll fucking kill you if you don't tell me where my boyfriend is."
Kaede started making fake vomiting sounds. "Gross. Boyfriend. You people make me sick."
"Us people? You mean humans? Because I've got news for you lady- you're one too." He said sarcastically.
"Humans? I don't think you even have the right to call yourself that. But if you want to spend a couple of hours in my company I'm sure I could… convert you." She paused. "Just like I did to Haruka."
"Fuck you." He growled as he ran around the table again, three times until they were back on the sides they started on.
"Oh yes! I love it when they put up a fight! Not like poor Haruka, no he just sat there and took it."
"Shut up." Rin Interrupted.
"And you know, I'm sure he enjoyed it. Finally being back with a woman again! He missed it, I could tell."
"Shut up!"
"It got to the point where he told us he didn't love you. To the point where he would scream out my name instead of yours. Oh the pure sweet sound he would make. The joy in his eyes when he realised he never wanted you. Not even once."
"SHUT UP YOU SON OF A BITCH!" He screamed as he skimmed across the table, throwing Kaede off guard, giving him enough time to put his hand around her neck. Kaede's eyes widened in surprise with a hint of fear.
"Now it's your turn to listen to me," He began with a glare. "People like you are what ruin our world. People's sexualities have nothing to do with it. Someone who's gay or bi or pan or anything that isn't considered 'normal' is always going to be better than someone who blackmails people, kidnaps people, beats their own child half to death. So I've asked you before, and I'll ask one more time so that you can get it through you're thick skull why I'm here talking to a bitch like you. Where. Is. Haru?"
"You know," She wheezed out a breath around Rin's vice like grip. "There's one thing you seem to be forgetting." Her eyes flicked behind Rin for a second.
"Really? And what's that?"
"It's two against one." She whispered. And Rin realised too late that she was right.
He threw her to the ground and turned around to stop the man, but he missed his chance.
A sudden pain shot through the left side of his waist. He cried out in pain, looking straight into Ryuga's eyes.
"Whoops." He said, mimicking the word his wife had said before hand.
Rin looked down and saw the shiny silver knife jutting out from his side. He made a wailing noise as he sank to the floor. He could vaguely see the two making their way out of the kitchen but he couldn't get up. He could do nothing to stop them. This wasn't simply bumping into a table, this was pain. A true pain that Rin could most definitely feel.
He attempted to steady his breathing and clear his mind. What was it he read online about stab wounds? Take the knife out or keep it in? He glanced down again. No, it was keep the knife in; its what's keeping the blood inside. He blinked heavily. He couldn't afford to fall asleep right now. Haru needed him. Haru…
"Haru…" He breathed out.
Haru…
Haru.
Haru!
That's right! He had to save Haru. Suddenly, he was very much awake. In pain, but awake. He took a quick look around the room, trying to see if there was anything he could press on the wound to stop the blood from pouring out.
Shakily he got to his feet, wobbling and wincing at how painful it was. He took a deep breath and made his way over to where he had seen a kitchen tea towel. It looked relatively thick, so he picked it up and took a deep breath.
He wasn't ashamed to admit that he screamed when he pulled the blade out of himself. It hurt like a mother fucker, but he would go through it again for Haru.
He quickly pressed the folded up tea towel onto his wound, which was dripping fresh blood. He quickly rummaged around in draws for something to fasten it on with. He found a roll of duct tape. Perfect. He wound it round his body thrice to keep the barricade in place. That way he could use both hands freely.
"Ha-" He started, before he stopped to cough. His throat was insanely dry. He carefully cleared his throat and shouted "Haru! Haru where are you? Please…" But he could tell he wasn't loud enough. He didn't have the strength to be loud enough.
He walked out of the kitchen, checking every door he could see until he came to one in the hallway. It was locked. Shit!
He barged his right shoulder into the door a couple times, it wouldn't budge. Rin groaned in frustration. It didn't seem like a hard lock to break. If he had all his strength he could probably just kick it down.
He decided to attempt it anyway. He slowly drew back his right leg and slammed it into the door. He could feel the cut tearing more, but he couldn't stop now- it was working!
One more kick! Two more kicks! Three! And finally, on the fourth, the door burst open, splinters shooting like a firework all over the place. The shark whimpered with joy, but he was in a lot of pain now. The tea towel had almost soaked thought with blood, he didn't know how much longer he would be conscious for.
In front of him was a staircase that lead down into some sort of a basement he assumed. He made his way down on shaky legs, holding onto the rail as he went.
It was dark. Pitch black even. Rin had to fumble around on the near wall for the light switch. He found it with only a bit of trouble and flicked it on hastily. He turned as the lights flickered and then brightened up the whole room to display a sight Rin never wanted to see ever again.
Haru, lying on the floor, was naked and trembling. His skin was bruised and battered. Patches of blue, brown and purple accompanied wounds that decorated his skin.
Rin screamed as he rushed over to the weak body as fast as he could. He knelt down and placed his hands on the cold skin of Haru's cheeks.
"Oh my god. Oh my god Haru! Haru, I'm so sorry. I'm so so sorry. Oh god. I'm here now okay. We're gunna save you." He blabbered as tears ran down his cheeks at an alarming rate. He slowly pulled the nude man up and held his body close to his own, trying desperately to heat it up.
Suddenly a croaky and broken voice cut through the silence. "R-Rin?"
"Yes! Oh it's me, it's me Haru! Oh fuck, you're so cold we need to… we n-need too…" He could feel his eyes drooping shut again. The loss of blood was finally getting too much for him to handle and he found that there was no way to stop himself as he fell into a sleep, Haru's quivering form still clutched in his arms.
The last thing they both heard was the sound of police sirens before the darkness swallowed them.
"Yes, thank you. As quickly as possible." Sousuke said as he hung up the phone. He rubbed his temples. Shit. He shouldn't have let Rin go in on his own. But he needed to stay and watch over the kids. There was no way it was safe to leave them again.
And sure, Rin going in alone was stupid, but he knew he would do the same thing for Momo. He couldn't sit there and let Rin suffer as he waited in agony. People do crazy things for love, this just had to be one of them.
"Is Rin going to be okay?" Makoto asked as the red eyed man disappeared from sight.
"I sure hope so. He and you're dad will be fine, I'm sure." He felt bad lying to the children. Obviously he had no way of knowing whether or not everything would be alright, but there was no way he was going to tell that to the innocent children.
Instead he decided to take their mind off of it with the news. He had decided for definite what he wanted to do and figured it would be nice to ask Kisumi first.
"Hey, boys, sit down for a sec." He said as he too sat down on the floor.
"What is it?" Kisumi asked.
"Well… I don't know if you too knew for sure, but I'm dating Momotarou Mikoshiba. The, uh, shorter ginger one from the coffee shop."
"Of course we know Momo! Why do you we need to know you're going out with him?" Makoto said, exchanging a confused glance with the pink haired boy.
"You see, Momo and I are both men and obviously we can't have children of our own, but we really would like to have children. So that means we'd have to-"
"Adopt right?" Kisumi said with a grin. "We learnt about an adoption case in Religious Studies the other week at school." He explained to Sousuke confused look.
"R-Right. Adoption. And anyway, I was thinking that maybe, only if you wanted too of course, you could try living with Momo and I after today." He said blushing nervously. Christ, who'd have thought he'd have to ask someone to be his child one day.
Kisumi looked stunned. "You want… me? You want to adopt me?"
Sousuke nodded slowly. "W-we can just do it as a trial run first of all. You won't be able to live with your parents again after this and I don't want a good kid like you going into care and being thrust in with some random people when someone you know would happily take you."
Kisumi's bottom lips trembled. "Of course you don't have to decide now! God, that's putting a lot of stress on you isn't it. I didn't think this though, I'm sorry I just-" Sousuke rambled.
"Yes."
"Excuse me?" Sousuke said, thinking he heard wrong.
"Yes. I want to live with you!" He said, tears of happiness running down his cheeks as he flung himself into the PE teachers arms. "Of course I'd want to live with you! You're so kind to me, and you're my favourite teacher. Oh! But don't tell Matsuoka sensei!" He giggled.
Sousuke felt his eyes begin to water too. "It's not something we'll be able to sort out quickly, but if you're willing to put in the effort, I am too. I love to be your dad." The two smiled at each other before hugging again. Makoto grinned at the scene in front of him. He'd be lying is he said he didn't know that already though. Honestly, people need to check if people are really asleep before talking about such things in public.
The happy family atmosphere seemed like it could never be broken, but then there was a commotion from the house. Sousuke's brow furrowed as he placed a finger to his lips, telling the kids to keep quiet. They complied.
"What the fuck was he doing here Kaede?" Ryuga yelled at his wife.
"I don't know, I don't know! All of a sudden he was just here!"
"How could've he have possibly known?"
"Fuck! That little rat… We should've killed him when we had the chance too."
"I refuse to kill my own son, you know that."
"Look, Ryuga, now's not the time to be getting into this. If he's here then there's a good chance the cops are here too. We need to bail- now."
Sousuke held Kisumi's shuddering frame tightly, the child crying for a totally different reason now. Something went down. 'Goddamn it Rin… what happened?'
"And go where, huh?" The masculine voice sounded again. "This was our sanctuary, this was our safe house. Where the fuck do we go from here?"
There was a pause. "Goro. That shitty little bastard. He's still on our side. We can bunker down with him for a while. A day or two at the least. No one's going to know he's a part of it! No one will suspect a thing! It's not like there'll be anyone left to tell the tale in a couple of hours anyway." Sousuke didn't know exactly where Goro Sasabe lived, but that information wasn't hard to find. He just needed to remember they were going there. As much as he would've loved to act now, risking two kids just wasn't worth it. He squeezed Makoto's shoulder comfortingly, the green eyed boy had moved to attach himself to Sousuke's side, scared out of his mind too.
"Fine, fuck, alright. But we can't stay there forever, okay? It's not safe enough."
The voices seemed to get fainter after that, the two psychos seemed to be making their escape. Sousuke let out a breath he didn't realise he was holding. He was about to say something when the sound of sirens filled his ears. A joyful sound if he ever heard one. A couple of squad cars made their way over to surround the house. Sousuke held both Kisumi and Makoto's hands as they approached one of the cars.
A female with silver hair and bright blue eyes stepped out of the car.
"Yamazaki-Kun!" She called out to him as he walked over. "Oh god, are you guys alright?"
"We're fine. It's been… a long day." Sousuke answered, almost rolling his eyes at how much of an understatement that was. In the background, the teal eyed man noticed a group entering the house. Too bad the culprits were already gone.
"Tell me about it," She murmured, placing a hand on Sousuke's shoulder.
"Rin and Haru… they're inside the house. I don't really know what happened I was watching the kids, keeping them safe. They've been through enough today."
"Hey you two," She said bending down to the children's level. "You look super tired."
"We are." Makoto said, rubbing his eyes.
"We'll why don't you two go take a rest in the back on my squad car?" She asked with a small smile.
"Thank you Mam." Kisumi said with a faint voice. The two children walked to the car, only about five steps away from the adults and got in, almost instantly falling asleep.
"Thank you so much for this. I don't know what I would've done without you Nitori-Kun" Sousuke said sincerely.
"Nah, it was nothing. That's what neighbours are for right? Besides, you helped my kid. I own you one."
"Nitori!" A police officer with blonde hair came rushing out of the house. "It's bad. We need ambulances. Fast."
"What? Oh my god, Rin and Haru are they-?" Sousuke asked, horrified.
"We're going to need you to get in that car with the other too Yamazaki-Kun. Safety reasons." Nitori said with a kurt nod as she contacted the hospital.
"O-of course." He replied, slipping into the police car in silence. But instead of sleeping like the two next to him he forced himself to replay the question in his mind over and over-
What the hell happened?