"Speak," Hiroto commanded, his voice monotone. The boy began to relay his message.
"We have Sho; if you don't follow me, he will die. He will die if you don't let me return within 10 minutes. He will die when they see you and if I'm not standing next to you. I'll give you a minute to think of your choice, that should be a good amount. Of course, the minute will be accounted for during the 10 minutes," the nameless boy said. He watched Hiroto standing there, and it took perhaps two seconds for Hiroto to drop his sword and walk toward him.
"I'm glad! You made the right choice," the boy said. He turned around and began to walk back into the forest, with Hiroto following right beside him.
Occasionally, the scrawny boy would look over at Hiroto and notice that he was lost in thought. He was looking around, hardly paying attention to the boy.
'Does Hiroto think much?' the boy wondered.
The boy thought about streaking a conversation, even if minor, perhaps to keep Hiroto from planning anything. However, he quickly shot that idea away. 'Hiroto never really was the talking type, now that I think about it.'
"I-" Right when he was about to speak like he forgot to breathe. The scrawny boy's back felt bubble as a horrible cold sweat began to break out from his body as the most horrific voice came from his side. 'What's this feeling?'
"I found you." Like he heard the devil speak, he quickly turned to his side, throwing a fist in an attempt to put up a resistance.
'It's getting dark. What happened to the lights?' The nameless scrawny boy felt the right side of his neck get warm. He subconsciously put his hand to feel it. His body felt light and came toppling down to the ground. 'Was that a knife? Where did he get a knife from?'
Lucky for Hiroto, Sho had instructed him to grab a knife before the exchange. During the fight with the 17 people, Hiroto found a knife similar to his previous one and put it in the same holder as before. He had also used the remaining top half of his clothes to conceal the holder around his waist, leaving him shirtless.
After the death of the nameless scrawny boy, Hiroto dashed through the forest without wasting any time. Angling away from the direction where the boy was walking, he held his knife in his right hand and constantly changed his direction within the forest, following the shaking tree branches and rustling bushes. He relied on his hearing to chase the noises, cutting, looping, running straight for a couple of seconds, doing anything to catch whatever was causing them.
However, Hiroto's fruitless chase seemed pointless after running around like a headless chicken for some time. He wondered what would happen if they gave him a false time limit that would take him less than the given 10 minutes to arrive. If they had told him he had 10 minutes to arrive at the exchange point, but in reality, it only took him 8 minutes, would they kill Sho even if he showed up at 9 minutes or more?
'This is taking too long, and he's not trying to fight me,' Hiroto thought after chasing Sen for a minute and getting nowhere. Too many variables were in play. How long would the fight last if he managed to catch the person?
"Sen! Stop," Hiroto yelled, realizing that the only person who could make him run around like this without giving him a speck of sight was Sen. At the beginning of the treatments, Sen would periodically hide away from everyone, not speaking much. His tendency to run made him very skilled at not being seen. Over time, as he adapted to his environment, he became so good that jumping to tree branches became child's play for Sen. Hiroto imagined that if he really wanted to, Sen could completely conceal the noises he made. But why wasn't he doing that now?
However, what enemy would stop from just asking? Wouldn't that be an absurd thing to do? Hiroto's mind was racing; he didn't know what to do. Should he turn around and save Sho? Then he would have to worry about his back. But he could run into a trap or waste time if he kept chasing Sen.
"Would he chase me if I were to run, or would he somehow give a signal that the deal went wrong?" Hiroto wondered. What was the point of aimlessly wandering around?
Without thinking further, Hiroto put his foot down and sprinted in the direction the boy was initially walking. Luckily, Sen seemed to be running right behind him; he could hear the tree branches shaking.
"Now the question is if he will attempt to attack me or keep his distance?" Hiroto kept glancing behind him, but he still couldn't grasp Sen's position well enough just yet.
.....
"Don't you guys find it funny; they had this whole playground to be in, yet they stayed within one corner. Seems like a waste, doesn't it?" The fat older man from before had his mouth open, breathing intensively, watching the kids play, pushing his belly against the window. If he were to step back, the steam would leave an indent on the window.
"Now that you mention it, it does seem like a waste." Someone agreed while holding his gold cup of wine to his mouth.
"I had the same thoughts," a younger, slender woman said, while her eyes felt slightly disappointed watching the kids play around.
"It's because it's the most strategic move. They would all be in the open if they were to fight in the rock square. Making no ambushes or diversions with their large numbers would be more of a disadvantage. If they were to be in the desert, they could ambush, perhaps by hiding in the sand; it's still unrealistic. The greatest disadvantage is still fatigue, and why would you make your army tired over one person? Then lastly, the swamp would be more advantageous for a single individual. They could do guerrilla warfare through the tall grass, easily escaping after a swift kill." Doctor Shiro Ishii seemed displeased by such a question. The fat older man looked behind, giving Doctor Shiro Ishii a glance and showing anger.
"I know that much. I just wanted to see how they would play in other areas. Must I have to explain to everyone that we all came here for entertainment?" It was a quick remark, but hearing it, everyone was slowly agreeing.
"I hope I don't have to explain how these kids were raised to be analytical and the advantages over the ground they fight on." It was a snappy remark; however, the fat old man's eyes didn't try to hide how angry he was this time. He stepped away from the window, leaving an imprint on his belly while his steps were heavy on the floor, showing the amount of weight he carried to move. He made his way to Doctor Shiro one step at a time, making a scene for everyone to notice. The weight of his steps mostly caused this.
Doctor Shiro looked more irritable rather than scared; his work had been insulted; how could he not? His ten years of working on this project, only to be insulted at the end, Doctor Shiro's mind was already thinking of insults for that fat behemoth that was walking toward him. However, he sustained himself in his work environment, changing his irritable expression and smiling at the fat older man.
Yet, this only made that fat older man madder, giving his face a new tint of red, almost like the top half of his head was a tomato. His steps became heavier as if he was taking some of his anger out on the floor before he got to the main meal.
"That's enough! Don't you think it's already enough of all the shows Doctor Shiro Ishii has displayed for us? Stop your childish remarks, or do you need this old man to make a move." The older man who has sat away from the widows kept to himself until now. However, while watching TV, would you like it if someone were talking during your favorite TV show? He was showing obvious irritation over the actions of the fat older man.
"Of course! Don't mind my remarks, I was just speaking out loud. Nothing to take to heart." Like a 180-degree turn, the display fat older man went away. He slowly made his way back to the window and acted like everything before didn't happen. Everyone else who agreed with him did the same; some even looked like they had a hairball stuck in their throat.
Doctor Shiro went back to his distasteful look toward that fat older man, but he didn't stare long. Looking at the TV, his smile was once again apparent.
.....