I saw him move and something in me hoped that he had found a way out of there.It was obvious that he knew something that I was unaware of that would help him find the way out.
But when I saw him squatting on the floor a short distance away and closing his eyes in a serene expression,I really wanted to attack him.I felt my temples pounding as if my pulse had been transferred there and I rubbed my eyes in an attempt to expel tension.
We were both prisoners there so it was the only help I could get and we couldn't turn on each other.
"Can you tell me what you're doing?" I failed to get out as much tension as I had in me and my words came out electrified; he didn't seem to care much though.
"It's no use trying to get out.If they see I'm not making a move, they'll give up in the end. "This might have been the first time he'd spoken to me in the day and he'd done it to talk in riddles.I really couldn't stand him at all and I didn't try to hide it.But his answer made me angry and made me remember the message I'd been given from an unknown sender.
Kaoru is not what he seems
"It's your fault we're in here like this right?"My face hardened and contorted from how intensely I frowned.Without even filtering my thoughts,I reached out my hand and pointed my finger at him.
I don't remember me ever being so quick to jump to conclusions but maybe when you're trapped somewhere you can't get out of and you feel like you're in danger,your thoughts and feelings become more raw.
"And who are you in the first place?"He opened his eyes and turned to me with a raised eyebrow.There was nothing of his carefree expression anymore and his gaze could poke a hole in my head.His question hit where it hurt and we both knew it.
I didn't know what the other members of the club were up to but they could blame him all they wanted if they were in trouble just because they were involved with him.Where did I come from and raise my finger wherever I wanted to angrily?
I don't know if he understood what my connection to them was but he was definitely looking at me suspiciously.
"..." For a moment I wavered between telling him the truth or not but eventually I came to the conclusion that I wasn't ready for that and preferring to look like a coward,I turned my head away and went to sit on the floor somewhere away from him. "Do you have any idea where we are or why we're here?"
It was odd because I wasn't used to talking and always let the shadows absorb me but at that moment my silence felt stifling and I wanted to break it.I was careful of the tone I was going to use.My purpose was neither to irritate him nor to appear arrogant.I asked him quietly and without color in my voice.
"...I can't tell you much for your own good but it has to do with my past."He had sighed at the beginning of the sentence before hugging his bent legs and bringing them closer to his body.
He looked more melancholic and his voice was heavy as if he had been forced to lift a weight he never asked for.He wasn't very proud of that past while he probably wanted to forget it but life wouldn't let him do that unfortunately.
"And you think if you don't do something, they'll leave us alone?" I really hoped this was the right answer to our problems because it didn't require any effort and the whole thing would be over sooner or later.
I was sitting further back from him and leaning against the wall so when he turned half his body back to look at me and give me a weak smile,I didn't even have to listen to the words that followed to understand.
"Either that or they will make drastic moves to force me to do something" It didn't take much imagination to realize that these "drastic moves" would put our lives in danger.I couldn't figure out what they expected him to do and they had locked him in a room with me but probably to get him to do it,they would put him under lethal conditions.Then the man would show his true colors and show what they wanted him to show.
His eyes looked at me with pity as if he was apologizing to me for what was to follow.
Yes,that didn't help the situation I was in!
The president I was used to was not like that and maybe if I told him that I would boost his morale a little.But then the question would arise of how I knew him and how I had seen the other side of him without even being a member of the club. I didn't want to answer these questions at the situation we were at because it would make the atmosphere even more uncomfortable and I was afraid that when things darkened,he wouldn't want to work with someone like me.
So I let him carry the whole burden of responsibility for the fact that we were both there while I was the one who was involved in these students' lives in the first place.
For a long time we didn't say anything and we were each lost in our own thoughts. Many times I had looked at his back from behind and made scenarios in my head about his past or what it was they wanted to force him to do.
I would never learn my lesson and this curiosity and indiscretion would never leave me alone.I would be poked and prodded as far as I could go even in such a serious situation.
I thought I heard something from the side of the door and my body stood up abruptly charged with hope for that split second it took for me to think that we were now entering the second phase of our confinement there.
Kaoru had also stood up and was looking at me anxiously as if he wanted to say something but didn't have time. I opened my mouth about to yell at him that he better have done what they asked before we got to this point but all the sounds were absorbed by the creaking of the door opening and a gasping breath.We both gasped when we were confronted by the person who opened the door.
"YOU?!!"The question slipped from my lips before I could even stop it but I really couldn't believe my eyes.I certainly didn't expect this.
The person gestured with their hand to give them a moment to regain their breath and bent their body, resting their hands on their knees. We looked at each other in wonder without understanding what was going on but we knew we had to wait for the person to explain.
Kaoru must not have recognized him because he was still in a fighting position and on standby.
"Why, were you waiting for someone else?" He asked and because he was late it took me a while to realize that he was now answering my question.
I slapped my face with my hand before I started yelling at him.Really,should I have been stuck in this situation with the two people in the world who were the most annoying?
"Don't try to look cool and say what happened!"
"This is your thank you? "He really liked the theatrics and dramatization of the situation.He touched his chest and looked at me with an almost betrayed look.But when he noticed the fires I started to launch towards him,he adopted an innocent look. "Look,I'm happy to go into details but...I don't think those black-clad guys will like that."
Our eyes opened wide and we prepared to start running away from there.
"Don't you think you should have said that first?!" I knew he was silly and light-headed but I never remembered him being like that.He made me feel like the mother scolding her mischievous child and oh Lord,I would have grabbed him by the ear if I had been any closer.
"Do you trust him?"Kaoru asked me.We had two choices.Either we believed him and ran with him to get out of that place or we waited for the men he had mentioned to show up.
The answer seemed clear but it wasn't because if he was on the enemy's side from the start,he could be lying to us to lead us into a trap.I looked at the boy across from me for a long moment and finally sighed.
"Yes" As soon as I said that we ran towards him and followed him since he had found his way there and so he would know which way to go.We were both unconscious when we were carried.Kaoru must have even struggled not to get caught because he had scratches all over his body and face.
"Do you really trust me?"The other one asked with hearts in his eyes and I smacked him on the head with my hand so I couldn't see his expression.I really couldn't understand him.
Why was he always trying to be there when I needed him and showing up at the right time when I had shown him in every way that I wanted to be alone?He was weird but at that moment he might have saved my life.I didn't need to tell him that of course.
We continued to run until the men he had referred to became distinct from the oncoming street. There must have been five of them if I wasn't mistaken and they looked very fit.
By this time we were in an outdoor area under some bridge,which meant that we were being held in some sort of warehouse. We could dodge them and not continue straight on but we were not fast enough to make them lose sight of us.It would be really foolish to turn our backs on the enemy by filling in openings.
"You keep on through the back" said the boy who had got us out of the shed and advanced a few steps forward as if he were ready to defend us with his body.Surely he was in no more danger than we were since he was not involved in the whole affair,whatever it was.But if they had trapped me just because I was following Kaoru, they would not have hesitated to hit him until he finally stopped being an obstacle.
"This is not the time for heroism!" I shouted at him but he did not hear me and after a while I saw him lift a long piece of iron and take a position. I knew exactly what he was ready to do and I trusted him. His baseball reputation was not fake and he had proved it in games with other schools. "Finish them off and come!"
I do not know if this was encouraging or not but he turned three quarters of his face towards me and smiled hurriedly before turning forward again. He picked up a stone and hit it with the iron. He may not have his usual equipment at his disposal but continued to have enough .
I did not have time to see if he managed to hit the target because Kaoru grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back.
"If we do not take advantage of the opportunity he gives us, he will risk it all in vain" He told me seriously and I nodded positively before following him. I would make it.I believed in him.
We were not far away when we heard sirens and we could see patrol cars at the end of the road we were walking on.We both got a little upset because many times you do not know if the police are on your side or not. We may have ended up being considered accomplices of the criminals who had captured us. We looked at each other and it was as if we knew exactly what we had to do.
We relaxed our bodies and put our hands in our pockets trying to look like two indifferent friends who had gone for a walk. Besides, the police may not have even come for us but they might have suspected us if we were behaving strangely.
I heard something which caused the blood to freeze in my veins and my whole body to the bone.
"That's him!"shouted one of the policemen pointing at us and everyone ran to capture us. My body woke up just then and was about to change course and start running away but Kaoru's hand gripped my arm tightly to hold me in place.
I was starting to feel the imprint stay on my skin and the pain grow.I looked at him inquisitively but he looked in front of the police officers with confidence. Maybe he had in mind that if we tried to escape, we would look really suspicious and we could not prove our innocence.
I had the feeling that he knew better in these things and I followed his example even though I was afraid I was gambling my neck heads or tails.
"Aren't you the boy Minamoto Saboru told us?"The policeman who was closer turned to me and showed me a photo that Saboru had given them to identify me. I tried to ignore the fact that I was not even aware of the existence of this photo and that it was taken in a strange and spontaneous phase that made me look ridiculous.
I started to relax as soon as the name of the baseball player was mentioned.
"Yes it's me. My name is Haga Ryo. " I answered clearly and loudly from the moment that the person who asked me was an officer of justice and apparently did not consider me responsible for any crime. However, I would not relax completely until I heard the whole story and the real reason why they were there.
"Do you know what ...?"I did not let him finish because my eyes opened widely. What the hell did we do and waste time? Saboru had not returned and the police were close enough to where the battle was taking place.
"The details can wait. .the boy who contacted you is being attacked down there! "I said in a compelling voice pointing behind me at the point under the bridge. They hesitated a bit. it came to my mind. I was merely a child and they wouldn't believe everything I said."Leave one of yours up here for me to explain the situation to him and the rest go down to check if I'm telling the truth".
I never spoke commandingly in my life and I always avoided eye contact with anyone but what was happening was an exception and I knew that even if they did not consider us suspects, they did not show us complete trust to leave us alone there.They thought of my proposal and they gave in condescendingly.One of the female police officers stayed behind to write down what I was telling her.
They usually think that it is better for a woman to talk to a victim or an eyewitness because they look more friendly and compassionate but this one had a very wild expression. She seemed ready to question whatever came out of my mouth and that did not help much.It made me more nervous actually.
I told her how I had received a message telling me to question Kaoru and that I went to the club room but was attacked and woke up in that warehouse until Saboru came to free us and the men attacked us.
He probably contacted the police as well and that is why he encouraged us from the beginning to continue our course after he had called the police and could help the situation.
The policewoman and Kaoru had similar questions in their eyes that had to do with my connection with the young man and why the message had come to me. But I pretended I had nothing else to reveal and closed my lips tightly.
I did not reveal it to him when we thought we were dying and would I tell him now that we were out?
When it was Kaoru's turn to speak, he looked at me suspiciously and then approached the policewoman to whisper something in her ear. The police officers were heard who had come down to the point I had shown with my hand.
"The kiddo was right in the end" said one panting and I ignored the description he had given me. Besides, he had not retained my name and since he was much older, I really looked small in his eyes.
All the cops seemed exhausted and their clothes were torn in many places from the battle to hold such bulky guys. Before I could see if Saboru was with them, my eyes widened and terror filled my face.
"One is missing!" I noticed loudly and everyone turned to look at me with wonder. Because I had already said what I knew and was right once, they seemed a little more willing to listen to me even though there was still that suspicion in their expressions. "They were five and you caught four! One is missing!" I repeated and after counting them,Kaoru agreed with me. We were two witnesses, we could not be ignored.
"Damn it!" Said the one who had called me kiddo and seemed to have a slightly upper position. He grabbed the edge of his hat and lowered it a little as if trying to hide his shame and irritability. "You, you and you! Explore the surrounding area! Turn the place upside-down if necessary but find him!These guys are dangerous and do not hesitate to attack an innocent population!"
"Yes Sir!" Said the three and left immediately after loading the four men into the patrol cars.
I saw the policewoman approaching him and whispering something in his ear and my intuition was telling me that it had to do with whatever Kaoru had told her before a while. My curiosity was piqued for once more but I thought it over and did not pay attention to the expressions they exchanged and to whatever they said to each other.
"Sorry for the interruption ..." I started shyly.
"What?!"Oh, right. He had a lot of nerves and he was looking at me as if he was threatening me in case I remembered something else they had to do. Under other circumstances, this would have scared me enough that I could not even make a sound but my question was of greater importance at that time.
"That boy ... Where is he?"For a while I was afraid that the fifth had managed to take Saboru hostage to exchange him for his freedom and that really would not be good at all. The policeman seemed a little relieved that I did not have any more information and his features softened.
"He's down there. We can't move him until the specialists come from the hospital."He had said it so casually, as if it were nothing. Why should he care that Saboru was in critical condition?He had done his job and caught four out of five criminals.
His gaze exuded an aura as if he believed that we had to fall to our knees and thank him for what he did. Where was he when we were taken prisoner?Where were they when these men attacked us? Where were they when they hit Saboru? All he had done was go down and catch them while we did all the work!
I clenched my fists and teeth and began to tremble. I might have thrown myself at him if Kaoru had not cut me off by putting his hand in front of me as an obstacle. Maybe I only knew him from the shadows and he had never seen me in his life but being trapped with someone and wait for the end, certainly could bring you closer.
"It's not worth it ..." he said through his teeth and it was the first time I heard him really irritated. It gave me satisfaction. Not because I was chasing this expression from the beginning and wanted to prove it but because he felt the same way as me and I was not alone.