"Hm, looks like..." Morofushi started. "There are shoe prints of boots, the same as inside, coming towards the window and leading away from it, back into the woods. And there are also barefoot prints out here...only from one person and only going into the woods as well."
Yui paled. "Don't tell me...that Shinichi-kun and Ran-chan..."
Morofushi nodded. "Yeah...they are out there...chased by that mad woman..."
Chapter 12 - The Missing Lovers in the Thunderstorm
At the same time:
Blood seeped from Shinichi's leg. His pyjama pants showed a narrow slit on his right leg, where he now had a large cut from a kitchen knife. Shinichi leaned against a tree; standing and walking hurt, a lot. He was able to do both, but not without pain, which also meant that he wouldn't be able to run as fast as possible. Pretty unfortunate in a situation, where he had to run from a crazy, murderous woman. Shinichi tried to get his breathing under control, all the running so far had been pretty exhausting.
Ran wasn't doing much better, but atleast she wasn't injured. "I think we lost her for now." She said, peeking around some trees.
Shinichi started to tear up his pyjama at the place where the Woman in Red had struck him with her knife. "Hey, Ran, give me a hand here." Shinichi said, waving her over. She looked at what he was doing and immediately understood. Ran kneeled in front of him and ripped off the part of the pant leg he was working on, using the cloth as a make-shift bandage to stop the bleeding for now.
"How bad is it? Can you walk?" Ran asked, while treating his wound as best as she could under the circumstances.
"Yeah, I think I can walk, but it hurts. I'm afraid I'll limp quite a bit soon enough. If...if we have to make another high-tail escape, I don't think I can keep up the speed to get away from her again..." He said through his gritted teeth.
"..." Ran didn't say anything, but Shinichi noticed that his words affected her. She did one more wrap around before she tied the cloth, which was already soaked with blood, seemingly stopping the bleeding. "There, that should last for a while." She said.
Shinichi winced and stroked over his leg, attempting to subdue some of the pain. "Good. Now, what are going to do? Try to make our way back, evading that woman? Or hold out?"
Ran stood up. "No, we cannot hold out, we gotta keep moving."
"As I said, I don't think I can keep up-..."
"I'll carry you!" Ran said, grabbing his shoulders.
Shinichi couldn't help but to blush. "W-what, I don't thin-..."
"Shinichi, this is no time to be embarassed, with your leg, we don't have a choi-..."
"Hey, hey, wait a minute, I'm not embarassed, that's not it! I just mean, that...carrying me will slow you down. I know, you're a karate champion and your physical strength is beyond impressive, but...you have a better chance without me slowing you down, one way or another..."
"What are you saying? Do you...do you want me to just leave you behind? Or that we split up, so you can draw her attention to you and give me a headstart...?"
"Well, I'm already injured...so you have the better chances of the two of us..."
"Stop it! I won't do any of that!"
"But, Ran..."
"Forget it! I told you: I'm going to carry you, even if it is the last thing I'll do."
"...Shinichi, if I was injured and would suggest you that, would you leave me behind?"
"No! I couldn't do that..."
"Then what makes you think I could...?! Listen, I get why you're saying that, because if our roles were indeed switched, I'd probably make the same suggestion. You know what you would feel, if I suggested that; well, that's the feeling I have right now. You carried me into this forest to protect me and now I'm gonna carry you out of it for the exact same reason, alright?"
"...Yeah...I get it." Shinichi sighed. "I didn't think waking up beside you would end so poorly, atleast without your father around..."
His gallows humor managed to get a small giggle out of Ran, the first time she had lighted up since they were running through this cursed forest. "Well, it doesn't always have to be..." And now even a blush of her own was visible. "Anyway, should we get going?"
Shinichi responded by wrapping one arm around her shoulder. "No, I think we should rest for a little while longer and catch our breath." With that, he sat down and gently pulled Ran with him, who also wrapped an arm around him. They sat in the rain, in a dark forest, exhausted, injured and on the run from a crazy woman with a large knife; however, in this one moment of closeness, it almost seemed okay. Just almost, but almost was closest they were to feeling okay ever since they left the mansion.
Shinichi closed his eyes for a second and remembered the situation earlier, when he had woken up in that bed with Ran.
Earlier:
It was a mix of thunder and an ominous feeling that woke Shinichi up. He looked around the dark room; it took his eyes a moment to adjust, but then he recognized the room of the holiday mansion they involutarily stayed in. Shinichi tried to rub his eyes, but noticed that it wasn't easy to move his arms. Additionally, something warm rested on his chest and his shoulder. One closer look and he realized, that Ran was lying were close to him. She had wrapped around both of her arms around his upper body and rested her head on his shoulder. Now, Shinichi had noticed that he also had one arm around Ran and rested his left hand her shoulder.
'L-looks like we unconsciously got much closer...and to think we were hesitating to even sleep in the same bed...damn subconscious, so much bolder than our active thoughts...' Shinichi thought. 'Well, I guess it's fine. Besides, I think Ran's grip around me is so tight, I couldn't free myself from it without waking her and that's saying a lot considering that Ran is a very heavy sleeper. Atleast this time, we don't have to fear a crazy axe murderer breaking into our room...'
Suddenly, one the panels of the window in their room was smashed in. Shinichi was now fully awake, staring over to the broken panel; he could vaguely see a hand reaching through the damaged panel, unlocking the window from the inside.
'The Woman in Red!' Shinichi thought. 'Then my concerns from earlier were right after all...! There was still somebody else in the forest...oh no, Ran...'
"Ran! Hey, Ran, wake up! Ran! RAN!" He shook her and raised his voice, but it was no use. Ran was still sound asleep. And this time, he didn't have his bow-tie with him to wake her up. Meanwhile, the hand had unlocked the window. Said window was now thrown open from the outside and a female figure with a large kitchen knife climbed into their room. Shinichi stared at the mad woman, who stood motionless in their room for a second, basking in the light of another thunderstrike, before she dashed towards their bed.
"DIE!" She had already raised her knife. Shinichi reacted quickly, pulling Ran's legs away from the edge of the bed. The Woman in Red couldn't stop the knife anymore and stabbed the mattress. She tugged the knife a few times, but she had difficulties getting it out of the mattress again. Shinichi saw that and kicked the woman as hard on the chest as he could, making her stumble back into the middle of the room, wincing from the pain of his kick. Unfortunately, her grip on the knife had been strong enough to pull the knife out of the mattress, instead of seperating her from it, like Shinichi had hoped it would.
'Damn it, Ran is still not waking up, gotta buy more time!' Shinichi grabbed their blanket and threw it over the woman. Disorientated, she started to flail around her arms, wildly swinging her knife in all directions, slicing up the blanket. "RAN! COME ON, WAKE UP!"
It still didn't have any effect on the girl. 'Damn it, with her clinging to me like that, I can't really fight that woman...' Suddenly, Shinichi had an idea. He started to get up and put his right arm under Ran's legs, while keeping his left arm wrapped around her shoulder. Thus, he was able to lift himself and her off the bed, carrying her bridal style. 'Atleast this is good practice for later on...'
The woman was still blindly swinging her knife around; the way she stood in the room, she blocked the door. 'I can't risk going past her like this...only one other way I guess...' Shinichi looked over to the open window and decided to make a run for it. "HELP! ANYBODY! THE WOMAN IN RED IS HERE!" He screamed, hoping that someone in the mansion would hear it. Meanwhile, the Woman had almost freed herself from the blanket, leaving Shinichi no time to wait for any help to arrive. He managed to climb out the window even while carrying Ran, being very careful that neither of them hit their head on the frame. Landing with his feet in the mud outside of the window, the two of them were quickly soaked from the rain. Shinichi could already her the quick footsteps of the Woman in their room, coming towards the window.
'Argh, going around the mansion won't do any good, she's too close and with her boots, she also has the better footing and is faster...I have to lose her somehow...only one way I guess...' Shinichi thought, before making a dash into the forest. Running as fast he could with Ran in his arms, Shinichi didn't even look back to see how close she was. He only wanted to put distance between the two of them and that crazy woman.
After a while, Shinichi leaned against a tree and looked around. He didn't see or hear the woman anymore, although his perception was greatly affected by the weather condition. It was still raining like it was the apocalypse, but atleast the thunderstorm seemed to have mostly passed on. Mostly was the important word, as at this moment, another thunderstrike illuminated the area. Shinichi felt some stirring in his arms.
"...S-Shinichi...?" Ran mumbled, opening her eyes slowly. "Shinichi!" Upon realizing that she was in his arms, in the rainy forest no less, she threw her eyes wide open. "What's going on?!"
"Calm down, let me just put you down and I'll explain." He said. Ran nodded and Shinichi did as he said, explaining to Ran what happened in their room and how they got here.
Shinichi looked around a few trees, trying to spot whether or not the woman was approaching. "What now? Can we fight her?" He asked.
Ran thought for a bit, but ultimately shook her head. "No, I don't think so. The Woman in Red is wearing a rain coat and boots, while we're just in pyjamas and bare foot. We're soaked in unfavourable clothing; we're freezing, additionally limiting our movements and we have worse footing than her in these muddy grounds. Plus, she has a weapon. I think I could take her easily, but not under these circumstances, it's too risky, even for the two of us."
"Damn, I feared as much. Only reason why I could even escape was due to losing her in the forest. With her boots, she could eventually catch us on a plain field..."
"So, what do we do? Do you know where we have to go to get to the mansion?"
"I think I have a general idea of the direction, but I'm not certain. I just wanted to get away from her, I didn't really pay too much attention to directions unfortunately..."
"That's too bad...I guess, we'll just have to rely on our luck and try to make our way back, right?"
"I guess. Alright, let's go." Shinichi said and showed Ran the direction. They didn't run, saving their breath. They tried to spot the woman through the trees and the rain. As Ran said, they were cold and soaked, making their movements even more exhausting in addition to the muddy ground.
After a while of walking, Shinichi jolted around. "What is it?" Ran asked.
Shinichi looked around. "I think I just heard some-...BEHIND YOU!"
Ran sharply turned and spotted the Woman in Red dashing towards her, knife raised, but thanks to Shinichi's warning, Ran managed to dodge it. The Woman managed to get into a proper stance faster, making her able to dash away again, out of Shinichi and Ran's line of sight.
"Where is she?!"
"I lost her!"
"Shinichi! Behind you!"
Unlike Ran, Shinichi wasn't able to get out of her reach completely. The knife easily sliced through his pants, injuring his leg. "Argh...!"
"Stay away from him!" Ran screamed and used one of her kicks on the Woman in Red. She managed to get a hit, but the woman just stumbled back and didn't fall. Because of her boots, she was able to get into a secure stand before Ran and mangaged to dash away again. Shinichi held his injured leg.
"Ran, we have to get away from here!"
Ran nodded. After actually landing a hit on her enemy, gave them a chance to lose her again. They ran as fast as they could and as Shinichi injured leg allowed them. After they were sure that they lost her again, they stopped to catch their breath.
Blood seeped from Shinichi's leg...
After Ran felt fit enough to continue running with Shinichi on her back, they went on the move again. Although he earlier said that he wasn't embarassed by getting a piggyback ride by Ran, he couldn't help but to blush while she carried him. Then again, her waking up while he carried her bridal style was probably equally as embarassing for her, so turnabout is fair play, Shinichi figured. Eventually.
Without having to look out where he was going, Shinichi could focus on doing the spotting for Ran. After all, she kicked the Woman in Red once, but with how quick that crazy was able to escape, it seemed likely that would strike again. If she managed to find Shinichi and Ran that is. The rain was still pouring, but the thunder seemed distant now and lightnings only rarely illuminated the area anymore.
"Can you keep going or should we rest for a while? I don't see her at the moment." Shinichi asked.
"No, it's fine, we can keep going." Ran answered.
One of the rare lightnings flared up. "RAN, LEFT SIDE!" Shinichi screamed, as he saw the Woman in Red approaching. "Brace yourself, I'm gonna jump off." He said and did exactly that. Ran immediately assumed a defensive stance, remarkably fast Shinichi noted. The Woman swung her knife at Ran, but this time Ran was ready for it; she was a karate champion after all, without being caught off guard she should have no problem with even an armed foe.
The Woman in Red dashed towards Ran, left arm with knife raised high and attempted to stab Ran, but Ran was able to block her strike in midair with her right arm. The Woman stared at Ran in disbelief, obviously not expecting her enemy to a martial arts expert. Ran quickly used her free hand, to hit the Woman in the face, making her tumble back, covering her face in one hand, while uncoordinately swinging her knife with the other. "ARGHH!"
It was difficult to see, but Shinichi was sure that the Woman had started to bleed from her nose; not too surprising considering that Ran decked her quite hard. Ran held her distance to the Woman, whose swing were too unpredictable to engage safely. The Woman turned around and fleed.
"After her!" Ran ordered. "Now's our best chance!"
Shinichi nodded and they both dashed forward to follow her. Ran was faster than him of course, but Shinichi managed to keep up decently considering his injury.
"Where is she?" Shinichi asked.
"I don't see her..." Ran responded.
"Help...!"
"Wait, what was that?" Ran asked.
"I don't know...but it sounded like..." Shinichi said.
"Help...!"
"I think it came from over there!" Shinichi exclaimed, heading towards the direction of the sound. Ran followed him. The rain had stopped by now. It was still night, but now a part of the clouds had parted, allowing the moon to shine onto the forest. A lucky break for Shinichi and Ran, because it allowed them to see clearly what was in front of them: a giant swamp, presumably the same one Tamami's friend Satoko died in.
And near the waterside, the Woman in Red was struggling in the swamp, screaming for help. Ran's hit on her face, must've deorientated her enough, that she didn't notice she was running into the swamp until it was too late.
"Help it!" The Woman screamed.
"Ran, get a long branch from one of the trees, we need something to pull her out!" Shinichi ordered. Ran nodded and went on to do as he said. Shinichi turned back to the woman. "Calm down, it's quicksand! The more you struggle, the faster you will sink in!"
His words had no effect, the Woman was still panicking and struggling. "Help...help me!" She screamed.
"We're gonna help you, just calm down! You'll only make it worse."
The Woman reached out to Shinichi with her arm, trying to inch towards him, which only made her situation worse. "Help me!"
Shinichi couldn't help but to roll his eyes. "Oh, for crying out loud..."
In that moment, Ran returned with a large branch, that looked to be long and sturdy enough to be used to pull the Woman out. Shinichi and Ran carefully approached the edge the swamp and held the branch forward, so that the Woman would be able to reach it.
"You need to grab this branch and we'll pull you out." Shinichi tried to explain.
The Woman whimpered and grabbed the branch with her right hand, while she still clung to her knife with her left hand. With only one hand on the branch, Shinichi and Ran wouldn't be able to pull her out.
"You have to throw away your knife and hold on to the branch with of your hands or we won't be able to save you!"
His words didn't reach her. Shinichi was getting annoyed again; sure, she was fearing for her life, but that was no reason for her to behave like an idiot!"
"TOSS YOUR KNIFE OR YOU WILL DIE, DAMN IT!" Shinichi screamed, making the Woman and even Ran wince. But it had the wished effect: the Woman stared at her knife for a second, before throwing it into the swamp and using her other hand to grab to the branch as well. With that, Shinichi and Ran were able to pull her out of danger. Ran utilized this moment of weakness and grabbed both of the Woman's hands and kept them on her back. Shinichi pulled out the waistbelt from the Woman's raincoat, using it to tie her hands up. After that, they pulled her up and linked arms with her; Shinichi on the right and Ran on the left side. The Woman in Red was unable to resist the two teens, who had her locked in between them.
"Alright, let's get back to the mansion." Shinichi said. The two teenagers set themselves in motion; in her position, the Woman had no choice but to walk with them. Not that it mattered, since Ran and Shinichi could've just dragged her along.
The Woman started to stuggle a bit, but her actions remained pointless. She was physically weaker than Shinichi, not even to speak of Ran. Without her knife and the surprise effect, she wasn't very dangerous.
"So, are you the famous Woman in Red?" Shinichi asked.
The Woman looked at him with disgust. "No, that bitch is still out there..."
"What?"
"She's still out there! I saw her today...she was listening to you two and another pair of teens...she's still out there..." Shinichi chuckled, drawing the Woman's ire. "What's so funny?"
"Well, you see, that wasn't the Woman in Red. That was merely a copycat..." Shinichi went on to explain the woman in their arms, what they knew about the murder case 15 years ago, about Satoko and that the Woman in Red is supposed to be dead since that day already.
The woman in their arms had tears in her eyes. "But...she's dead...? But...the police...they said she was still out there..."
Shinichi looked into the distance. "It looks like they were mistaken..."
"But...but...then...I wasted my time out here...seeking revenge...but there was never someone to get my revenge from...instead...I saw a girl...who was innocent...die...all for nothing...?" The woman in their arms slumped, forfeiting any of the slim physical resistance she offered just a second ago. Her feet were still walking along, but it was just an automatism, almost mechanically. Tears ran down her face. "Takeno-san..." She mumbled.
Shinichi stayed quiet. From hearing her story, he deduced that she must have been the lover of the businessman that was killed by the real Woman in Red 15 years ago. And that she was the one who drove Satoko into the swamp; admittedly, that wasn't much of a deduction, since she basically confessed that right now. However, Shinichi kept all his thoughts to him. The woman in his arms was already broken, he didn't need to push her any further. The upcoming police procedures she would have to go through would put enough pressure on her, he didn't want to add to that at the moment.
"Shinichi! Over there!" Ran exclaimed and pointed to their left. And sure enough, there was the mansion. The door was still bright red, just when they arrived here.
Shinichi and Ran smiled and moved over to the building, dragging the woman with them. The rain had long stopped and the sun began shyly with driving the night away. The two teens were soaked, freezing, injured and exhausted, but now it was finally over. The case was solved, the woman caught and the two of them survived. Bloody, but unbowed.
A/N: And that's it, the face off between the Woman in Red, or atleast her revenge seeking, psychotic imitator. It wasn't a fair and square match, but after all, I'd say it was still a technical victory for Team ShinRan, wouldn't you agree?
Anyway, I realized that this would make a somewhat good end of the story, but don't worry, I won't give into the temptation of ending it here. There still one more chapter, the epilogue coming. After all, I have already written some stuff for that and there are still things I want to adress in this story, so I couldn't square with my conscience to end it right here.
As always, don't forget to leave me a review, to tell me what you think about the chapter and the story in general. It really helps me in the writing process, in many different ways. Alright, as I said: next time is epilogue time. So, stay tuned for that!
~10.07.2015