At that instant, Shinobu slammed the crowbar into Shogo's neck causing him to let out an agonizing scream while clutching his neck in pain from the unsuspected brutal impact.
Yushiro crawled out of his hold and ran away from there with Shinobu.
Furious with the antics of these two friends, Shogo got up and strolled towards them. He wasn't able to catch up with their pace because of his weakened state but he was still determined to hunt them down.
When Shinobu and Yushiro turned around they saw the faint figure of Shogo following them hence they bolted through the falling pieces of concrete from the walls and ceiling hoping they would slow Shogo down if he ever decided to ambush them without thinking.
Suddenly a blast of flames surged out of the rubble at the side and struck Shogo who immediately cried in pain.
Both Shinobu and Yushiro saw the shadow of Shogo in the flames trying to fight them off while they consumed him like a hungry pack of wolves.
The screams subsided and the shadow of Shogo vanished in the fire. Yushiro heaved a sigh of relief that sounded lifeless. He felt it was too early but was glad they could make it out safely without having to worry about anyone tracking them after this.
They continued running towards the entrance that was likely to be close by now. However, just as Yushiro was about to take a closer look at the door ahead of them, debris from the ceiling fell onto his back, crushing him at that very moment.
"Yushiro no!" Shinobu cried while trying to pull her friend out of the fallen debris.
Surrounding them from every corner were the flames spreading at an alarming rate. Shinobu's heart was racing this place was starting to look like a forest that was on fire, the smoke was clouding their vision and the flames were spreading like wildfire. They were so close to the entrance and now they were trapped a few feet away from their only escape.
"Go on without me, I'm only going to slow you down." Yushiro croaked he could barely move and the pressure exerted by the pieces crushing his back was unbearable.
"Yushiro what are you talking about?!"
Shinobu grabbed the debris and tried to lift it up but it was too heavy. She couldn't even get it to budge.
Trying again, Shinobu started panicking. "Please this can't happen Yushiro." Seeing Yushiro in this state reminded Shinobu about her objective not too long ago, she was going to find Douma since she hadn't seen him ever since the storm went off. There was already too much to bear for the violette, she couldn't afford to have another friend vanish.
Shinobu grabbed Yushiro's arm and tried to pull him out but it was no use the debris was keeping him there until the flames get to them. Both of them were starting to feel helpless, Yushiro insisted that Shinobu left him there however that would only leave another scar so she wasn't going to.
Yushiro tried to make it easier for Shinobu to remove the object by lifting himself up which would also push it off in the process but he had trouble doing so there was a wide different between the weights involved.
As time passed, Shinobu stopped what she was doing and sat there with a grim expression on her face. Yushiro wasn't going to make it if he's not freed from this debris on time, the fire was spreading to this spot. It was going to give them a chance.
Just then, both Shinobu and Yushiro heard a pair of footsteps approaching them.
The violette looked up and saw Douma standing beside Yushiro who was shocked to see him here. They didn't expect Douma to find them in this particular spot, regardless, Shinobu was relieved to know that he was alright and here to help.
~~~
The entrance of the building was surrounded by police cars, investigators and many people who gathered to witness the scene unfolding.
Atashi ran out of the building and stopped by the side to catch his breath. A few paramedics came over to where he was and took him away from the burning building. He worried for his friends who were still trapped in the building. It could collapse any second now if the pieces and scraps continue falling.
Firefighters and paramedics gathered on the front lines. Although the water hoses and equipment managed to put out some of the approaching fire, the building was still getting devoured from the inside out.
After their confrontation with Mr Moikawa who was nowhere to be seen, possibly caught around the area, Douma had told Atashi to get out of the place while he searched for Shinobu and Yushiro. The blonde could sense they were in the building and the fire was going to pose a huge threat to their safety.
The same fire that Atashi started.
Nobody around him was aware that the fire was caused by his careless acts. But the guilt he had to live with if anything happens to his friends in that building. Eiko already knows about his disappearance, if she reveals the truth about it, his own family wouldn't want to have anything to do with someone like him. Friends were like family, especially to Eiko.
While the paramedics were treating his wounds and telling him to relax by taking a few breathing exercises, someone from the crowd pointed at a figure emerging from the entrance. There were screams hear and there as everyone looked at the person standing in front.
Douma was carrying Yushiro who looked exhausted, Shinobu was standing beside him looking all worried. They weren't expecting a large crowd to be gathering at a place like this, news must've spread fast.
Everything fell silent as the cops approached the three friends who got out unharmed. The only thing that was heard were the sirens from the police cars parked around this part of the area. It was already nighttime they needed a long fulfilling rest after an entire day of making sure justice is served for all the innocent people out there and restoring peace.