"Well, I have no clue what you did to open it up, but I gotta say, I'm proud of you, Ariyama boy."
Jack was unnatural in the way he smiled, looking like those mannequins back in Ariyama's training room. His thin lips stretched over his face, showing his gleaming teeth.
It was even unnatural to just see him so joyful, in a scenario where he wasn't bullying someone.
But Ariyama barely even registered what he said.
He kept his gaze downcast, his fists tight at his sides, jaw tensed as if he expected something to jump out at him.
He felt it.
When Takemichi had first approached him after school that day and asked for protection, he had said he felt as if something bad was going to happen.
Now Ariyama felt the same.
He hated this feeling; it wasn't something easily explainable, but instead something dull and barely there at all.
A faint throb in his skull, a flip in his stomach. All lesser versions of the pains he was feeling when first encountering that Shrine Gate thing.
Whatever was going on, he didn't like it.
Ariyama walked forward a little, peering into the doorway on the wall. There was a wall of old, dark stone there before, but now it seemed to have just straight up disappeared.
Ariyama was certain this place didn't have some sort of electronic system to do something like that.
It almost didn't seem real, what happened with that red eye on the wall. He knew that was why the door was gone, but something so supernatural… He found it nearly impossible to really believe.
Jack gave Ariyama a weird look.
"Well, someone's not too good at taking a compliment, huh?"
Yasami and Koenji chuckled at that one.
"Oh well. Now that we can actually get inside, shall we? I'll go first. You guys follow and stick close. I'm not embarrassed to say I'd kill any of you if you leave me there."
Waving his phone flashlight ahead to light up the immediate area in front of him with a blue-white glow, Jack began to trot inside, cautious to not trip over the rubble on the floor.
After him, his goons followed, then Yaranagi and Matsuragi and Kazura. As Odomura gave Ariyama a reassuring smile – which made his heart leap a little – she also made her way through the tight gap.
But Ariyama's legs just wouldn't move. He cursed at himself and banged his fist against his leg, again and again.
What the hell was wrong with him?
He wasn't scared, was he?
"So you feel the same way now, Ariyama-kun?"
It was Matsune, standing at his side, her gentle hand on his shoulder. Ariyama's heated face looked at her pretty one.
In his moment of weakness, he took just a moment to appreciate how beautiful she was…
No.
He wouldn't fall for her, not like all those others. He prided himself in a way, to be able to ignore her charms.
Better than most, at the very least.
But then he realized Takemichi was also still there, taking a spot by his side. The timid boy nodded his head.
"Uh, yeah, I suppose all three of us feel weird for some reason, then? This place sure is creepy… Maybe it's for the best if we just, you know, leave?"
Ariyama understood where he was coming from, but he shook his head.
"You're in your right to do whatever you want, and I'm not gonna stop you, but hear me out. If you leave now, Jack will only get worse with what he might do to you. He sees you've left here, and he'll only increase the severity of his actions."
Ariyama hadn't intended it, but Takemichi's face paled considerably.
Matsune moved a little closer to the scared boy.
"Ariyama-kun, there's no need to say something like that. Takemichi-kun, you can leave if you want, and no one will fault you."
It might have been the ailment affecting him, or even how he was truly feeling, but Ariyama chewed his lip in vexation.
"What are you saying, Matsune? That's complete nonsense and you know it. If he goes against what Jack says now, he'll only be at the receiving end of more punishment. No one is willing to go up against Jack for him, so why bother making more trouble?"
Matsune's coal eyes glared at him, her grip on Takemichi's arm tightening.
"Listen, it's not his fault he's being unfairly targeted by Jack. It's the fault of others."
Rage sieged through Ariyama's whole body.
"What, like my fault? What are you talking about? You expect me, who no one knows much about apart from my family's wealth, to stand up to Jack? Him of all people? He has an influence that I only wish I could. And let's not forget you! You're the most popular person in the whole year, and the best option to stop him, and yet you do nothing either! So don't you dare blame me when you're equally at fault!"
Matsune sighed, her face relaxing. She subconsciously twisted the silver bracelet she wore.
"You're right, Ariyama-kun, and I'm sorry. I think it's just the tension in the air tonight that's having us on edge. I didn't mean you specifically, but rather everyone. And yes, I should blame myself too. I haven't done anything to properly stop him, and for that–"
She looked sadly down at Takemichi at her side.
"– I'm so sorry, Takemichi-kun."
As Mastune looked at him with her gorgeous eyes, Takemichi's face went bright red, and he fumbled with his words.
"O-oh… um, it's OK, Matsune. Really. It's no one's fault and I don't blame them for standing up to Jack. He's a scary guy."
Matusne nodded and gave him a sweet smile, then looked back at Ariyama.
"And Ariyama-kun, genuinely, I'm–"
"Just… forget it…"
Ariyama blew out a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose. His jaw clenched and unclenched continuously.
"Sorry, I just… need some time to think…"
He shook his head in disbelief – at himself, mainly – feeling like a hole had opened in his stomach.
Without another word, he left Matsune and Takemichi alone, barging his way into the doorway and quickly being drowned in the darkness within the structure.
His mind was filled with other thoughts, so Ariyama nearly tripped multiple times on the debris left scattered across the floor of the building.
It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside, and when they did, Ariyama forgot all about his feelings about Matsune and Takemichi and Jack and his family.
The interior was a mass of darkness, the peeling walls and shattered floor barely visible behind the blindfold of black that covered everything.
Cautious, Ariyama took a few steps forward, his gaze focused on his feet to ensure he didn't trip. The others only entered a little bit before him, so he was surprised when he couldn't even hear the echoes of their voices bouncing off the walls.
The whole place was windowless, and the darkness seemed to only get bigger as Ariyama turned a corner and faced down a long hallway. At the end of this hallway was a point where not even the moonlight shining through the doorway could reach. It was pitch black, and when Ariyama picked up a pebble off the ground and tossed it down the corridor, it was enveloped by the shadows.
Only the faint thud of it hitting the floor made Ariyama sure the pebble was even still there.
As Ariyama made his way jankily down the hallway, he peered into the maybe doorways on each side. All the rooms were desolate, save for one or two that seemed to have even more graffiti painting their walls.
But even the graffiti faded to non-existence as Ariyama journeyed further into the ruins.
Eventually, he stopped. His breathing was starting to act up as the dust seeping from the ceiling and coating the walls made his throat swell.
He coughed into the crook of his elbow, shrugging off any dirt that had landed on his jacket as he explored. Was there even a point to this place?
Sure, Ariyama had thought before that he wasn't a big fan of going to a place supposedly haunted by dead people, but that didn't mean he wanted this trip to be completely worthless.
That was why he activated that gate, after all.
Wait.
The gate.
That must have been another thing Ariyama had subconsciously tossed into the back of his mind, because there was no way he would just accept what had happened with that red eye.
It was definitely a drawing, sketched out on the wall alongside the rest of the graffiti, in a dark red color. So then how had it actually opened and glowed a fiery red? And how had it managed to open that seemingly immovable stone door.
So many questions…
But what was Ariyama to do?
It wasn't like he could just ask any of the others about this. They'd all call him insane, probably even Matsune. And he couldn't consult the thing that gifted the knowledge about the eye: that history book, because it was sitting pretty with his mother back home.
So at this point in time, Ariyama was completely alone with his dilemma.
So was there really much point in stressing over something he couldn't change?
Probably not.
Ariyama gritted his teeth and shook his head, clearing his mind of everything, even if only for a minute. Then he made his way towards that spot of pure darkness at the end of the hallway.
As Ariyama reached that point, he heard something, distant but still audible.
He paused, his ears focusing on any small sound around him. He picked up the slight sifting sound of the dust falling from the ceiling, the whisper of the breeze running through the shadows.
But then he heard voices.
At first, he wasn't sure exactly what they were, but as he pressed his ear to the wall, he knew for sure they were voices.
From what he could figure out, about three of them. Two male and one female.
And judging from their current situation, Ariyama guessed the girl was Kazura, as Matsune was still probably somewhere near the doorway with Takemichi, while Odomura's quiet cadence wouldn't travel that far in this maze of plain stone walls.
As for the two male voices, he could only think it to be maybe Jack and Yaranagi, but that was nothing more than a guess.
And furthermore, Ariyama didn't like the idea of Jack even talking with Kazura. She was his childhood friend after all, and he cared for her more than she probably knew.
And maybe there was some other reason too, but…
Ariyama shook his head.
This wasn't the time to confront his feelings over one person or another. Right now, all he wanted was to catch up with everyone else and maybe not end up a shadow monster's next meal.
The dust raining down like a shower of gray, Ariyama finally reached the dark end of the hallway, then he chose a direction at random, deciding to head left.
More crumbling walls and littered floors later, he finally emerged into something actually different.
At the side wall of the hallway, there was a burst-open door. Dodging the debris of the wood scattered across the floor, Ariyama stepped inside.
It was a sort of dining room or something similar. There was a rotten wood table in the middle of the wide room, the chairs surrounding it either splintered on the floor or withered husks barely keeping themselves together.
What must have once been a chandelier hung dead off a rusted chain from the ceiling. It looked like it could've once been glittering with pearly white material, but now it was just a shriveled-out shell of dull color.
Its squeaky chain swayed ever so slightly, even when the breeze from outside didn't reach this far into the building.
Looking around, Ariyama noticed another doorway on the opposite side of the room, and quickly went for it. It led into another hallway yet again, indistinguishable from the others.
But the voices were getting louder, ever so slightly. But as Ariyama traversed this new path, he heard something else. It took him a moment to realize it was someone crying…
This sound passed through the walls like a ghostly wail, so much that it almost did sound haunted.
Ariyama one hour ago would've scoffed at himself for unironically considering that possibility, but his views had already changed when we encountered that Shrine Gate.
If a piece of graffiti could move and glow like a floodlight, what's to say ghosts don't exist too?
But as Ariyama turned a corner, he found the real origin of the sobbing.
Curled up in a corner, knees up to his chest and arms around his knees, face red from exertion, was Koenji Bennosuke.
Ariyama stared in disbelief for a good few seconds before cautiously approaching the shaking boy.
"Koenji? What's wrong?"
Koenji looked up at him, but instead of making a snarky comment or laughing in his face like he always did, he just glared at him, lips quivering and tears staining his cheeks.
He shook his head, mouth clamped shut and unable to move.
It was unnerving, seeing someone who was always such a character now reduced to a shaking body on the floor.
"I said what the hell happened?"
Ariyama applied some assertiveness to his voice. From his dumb little argument with Matsune to the whole vibe of this place, Ariyama wasn't exactly in the best of moods.
Koenji squared his shoulders and did his best to hold his shaking. Slowly looking up to Ariyama, he finally opened his mouth, his voice quiet and monotone.
"I was with Oichi… Then we got separated… Then I came into the room over from this one. I was only trying to find my way back to Oichi, but then I heard this sound…"
His eyes bulged as he reminded himself of the event.
"It was a sharp whistling sound, and I turned around, and I saw something flying towards me. And I tried to dodge it, but… well… it only barely worked…"
His body quaking again, he slowly held up left arm, which had been covered by his right the whole time.
Ariyama audibly gasped as he saw it.
A black bolt, like from some medieval crossbow, was lodged halfway through his forearm. The whole limb was red from blood, and it still leaked from the tears in his flesh around the bolt.
"Dude… what the hell…"
Ariyama was at a loss for words. His belly had opened up again and it felt like a bottomless pit. He never really got queasy from seeing anything gorey in movies or TV, but seeing it in person – and being just three steps away from it – made his whole body feel repulsed.
Ariyama shook his head to level his mind. There was no time to panic, even if that wound was really, really gross.
"OK… OK, let's think about this for a second…"
"What's there to think about, you bastard!?"
Koenji's voice went up a few pitches as he screamed, his forearms twitching from the bolt still lodged in it.
"I'm gonna die! Oh God, I'm gonna die!"
"You're not! Just… let me think."
Ariyama cursed and pressed his hands to his head, racking his brain for ideas.
"Well, you need medical assistance, so…"
He looked around, scanning the room for something, anything, he could use to stop the bleeding, even for the time being.
But this place had been left to the elements – and rebellious delinquents – for years, so there wasn't a thing of use in sight.
"Bro, I'm going to die! Please do something! I'm sorry, OK? I'm sorry for always being Jack's little bitch. I was just so scared that I wouldn't be respected any other way and I–"
Ariyamaturned back and glared at him.
"Can you just shut up? I don't really care about your apology. Right now, we need to get you out of here."
He knelt down beside the injured boy and slung his good arm over his own shoulders, using all the muscles in his legs to push himself up to standing. It didn't help that Koenji liked to eat. A lot. And his body showed it.
Koenji, leaning off Ariyama, mumbled something, his previous burst of energy lost. His eyes began to flutter shut, so Ariyama gave him a sharp slap on the cheek.
"Don't do that. Not fall asleep, or talk for that matter. Just save your strength and walk with me…"
As Ariyama's muscles burned and he hoisted the student out of the hallway, trying to retrace his steps, Koenji muttered again.
"You… Why… I've only ever been mean to others. Why not leave me for dead?"
Ariyama didn't even look at him, instead just clicking his tongue in annoyance.
"What type of question is that, you idiot? Sure, I don't exactly like you. Or Yasami or Jack. But do you expect me to leave you here for dead? No. I'm not as messed up as you must think I am. I'm going to save you."
Maybe… this was it.
Was this his 'big moment'?
Putting his differences aside to help save an injured classmate?
Would that finally free him from the shackles of his father?
Would saving someone really do that?
Would saving Koenji really do that?
Ariyama doubted it.
No one liked Koenji, just as no one liked Yasami or Jack. They were just intimidated, that's all. The three bullies didn't seem to even like each other. Yasami and Koenji were always vying for Jack's attention, but that was only because he was their way to getting some recognition.
Wait, what was he trying to say?
Was he only saving him to get some damn reputation?
What kind of person would that make him?
As they passed another, stone room, Ariyama bit his lip till it hurt.
He wasn't going to do this for his big moment. He still wanted that, but it'd come to him when the time was right.
Right now, he was saving Koenji because it was the right thing to do.
Just then, they turned down another hallway, one which had a weird line of holes along one wall. Koenji suddenly stirred from his spot beside Ariyama. He used all the strength he could in his voice to shout.
"Bolts! Bolts from the holes!"
Bolts from the holes? What the hell was he on abou–
Ariyama instantly heard a sharp whistling sound, and looked to his right at the holes on the wall, as a thin black thing shot out of one.
His heart seized with warm panic, Ariyama fumbled and barely managed to drag both himself and Koenji to the floor, the bolt flying overhead before landing into the opposite wall with a thunk.
Breathing heavily, Ariyama waited for another bolt to fly, but when none came, he slowly looked up.
Ah. 'Bolts from the holes'.
That made sense now.
"Ah! What the hell are we gonna do?"
Ariyama decided to leave Koenji on the floor; it was for his own good. He couldn't stand on his own, so it at least protected him from being impaled by the arrows.
Speaking of which, why the hell did this old ruined building have, not only a glowy red eye on its outside wall, but a whole system of medieval-type boobytraps. Did Jack have the answers?
If he knew all this would be in the building, what was his plan? Did he decide to upgrade from just being an asshole to being a murderer?
"Koenji, just stay down here and try not to bleed out, OK? I'll try and find some help."
"Oh, hell no! You're not leaving me alone in this dusty, dark, smelly goddamn place. Man, this was a mistake coming here. Now I'm dead and there's nothing to do–"
As if someone was answering Ariyama's prayers, there was a sound of approaching footsteps. Multiple.
Ariyama let out a breath of relief, only for it to be replaced by fear once again. Did they know about the arrow traps? Ariyama didn't think they did, and they were getting closer now, closer and closer, their footsteps getting louder and louder.
"Guys, wait! Don't come in here! There are holes in the wall that shoot out these bolt things. If you get in here, they'll trigger and…"
But those footsteps didn't stop. He heard voices calling his name, so they heard him calling out at least, but not what he was saying. It was useless to try it again, and so before his mind could even catch up, Ariyama made a break for it.
He fell into a straight sprint along the hallway, heading for the opposite side, where the others would soon turn the corner.
He heard arrows narrowly whistling past him as he darted across the floor, teeth grinding and his head tucked low.
Almost there.
Almost there.
Almost–
The running footsteps stopped as a girl turned the corner.
Tan skin. Blonde hair with a purple clip.
Kazura.
They made eye contact for just a moment, as both Jack and Yaranagi turned the corner too.
Everything seemed to slow down, as Ariyama became aware of the arrow shooting out from the hole in the wall.
He pushed her.
Her head was pulled down as her body was raised slightly.
The bolt missed her head, but cut a long gash across her arm.
Blood poured. She screamed in pain.
But it wasn't over. Another bolt was primed. And it was let off with a shrill sound.
This one would hit her head regardless.
Ariyama didn't have time.
So he–
Clenching her teeth against the pain of the cut across her shoulder, Kazura squeezed her eyes shut and flinched heavily as another bolt shot at her.
But then it was Ariyama who grunted in pain… Kazura opened her eyes and saw Ariyama, arm outstretched, the bolt gripped tightly in his fist.
He had miraculously caught it just inches before it would've buried itself in her head.
The speed of it had ripped the skin of his palm, leaving it red and sensitive. Blood seeped from between the gapes in his fingers.
"S-Saato-kun?"
Kazura was breathing heavily, her hand pressed to her wound, tears brimming in the corner of her eyes.
"What's… going on?"
Also gasping for breath, Ariyama said nothing as he dropped the bolt, the metal rod slick with his blood clattering to the ground.
"Yeah, what she said. Why are there arrows flying from all around?"
Jack came up behind them, as Ariyama pulled Kazura around the corner and out of the range of the boobytraps. As Kazura sank to the floor, clutching at the bloody line scarring her shoulder, Yaranagi called her name and knelt beside her.
Jack gripped Ariyama's shoulder.
"You hear me, Ariyama? What the hell was that–"
Ariyama smacked his hand away, taking one step back and reeling back his fist as he did so.
He was shaken to the core with anger. Fury that he hadn't known he could muster. It was bad, and in the heat of the moment, uncontrollable.
"What's up with you? I told you to explain to me what in the hell–"
Wordlessly, he let his fist fly, his knuckles crunching into Jack's jaw.
The boy tipped back, and Ariyama pushed his whole weight onto him, the two collapsing to the floor. With his ruined, bloody hand, Ariyama grabbed Jack by the collar and pulled him in close to his snarling face.
"You tell me, you bastard."
Jack's face was twisted in astonishment at what had just happened.
"W-what…"
Ariyama huffed an angry breath and punched Jack again. It hurt like a bitch, and his knuckles were already bruised and bloody, but it felt damn good.
"You were the one who brought us here, yeah? So you must've known this place was the best choice for some reason. It took me until now to figure out why. This place is trapped! There's dead end after dead end, traps that shoot out arrows! Kazura was lucky I saved her, because otherwise she'd have ended up like Koenji. You know, your only friend? Yeah, he's bleeding out from a bolt through his damn forearm right now. So unless we get out this instant, he's as good as dead! And who's fault is that?"
"I… didn't know this would happen. I was just told this place was–"
"I don't give a fuck what you were 'told'! It's your fault we're in this situation, you stupid bastard!"
He hit him again, and again, and again.
Ariyama felt flashes of white-hot pain flooding his whole hand as his fist connected with the side of Jack's face.
He was finally doing it. Finally talking out all his frustration on somebody, while hurting himself in the process.
Jack groaned in pain, his face red and his eye swollen. Just as Ariyama was about to hit him again, a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled him off Jack. The jarring force made him feel like his shoulder would be torn off.
So he knew it was Yaranagi before he even came into his line of sight. His friend's mouth was set in a hard line, clearly suppressing his own anger, which he very rarely did.
"Listen, Saato. There's no time to beat him, no matter how good it may feel. We got to get Koenji out of here. Probably Machi too. They're both injured, and for all we know, those bolts could've been poisoned or could cause a disease from the rust."
It was weird, having Yaranagi being the sensible one while Ariyama was the one losing his temper. This place was changing everything Ariyama had grown so accustomed to.
Taking a deep breath in and out, Ariyama nodded without another word. He was still kind of pissed off at Yaranagi, but right now he was telling the truth. He sat up, wincing at his busted hand and holding it close.
"OK, OK. Can you crawl under those traps in the hallway and grab Koenji? If we all meet up here, there can't be only one path to the entrance.
Yaranagi nodded, then gave Kazura a reassuring pat on her good shoulder, before disappearing around the corner.
Ariyama squeezed his eyes shut, ignoring small moans from Kazura and the wheezing breaths from Jack. He dreaded the thought of hearing a whistling bolt, followed by the sound of a body dropping to the cold stone floor.
But as luck would have it, Yaranagi returned just moments later, scuttling across the floor on his knees, his arm muscles bulging as he dragged Koenji's groaning form behind him.
Leaning Koenji against the wall beside Kazura, Yaranagi exhaled loudly and got to his feet, dusting off his pants.
"Fatso…"
Ariyama's shoulders relaxed as his best friend returned. He brought his knees close to his chest.
"Right, cool, awesome. Now we need to get them out of here… But you can't take both of them, and Jack and I can't help. We don't even know another way back, but we need to escape anyway…"
"I agree, Ariyama."
At the foreign voice, Ariyama jumped a little, his nerves not helping in any way. He craned his neck around, stifling a gasp as he saw two familiar faces approaching from the other side of the hallway.
Matsuragi Kento and Odomura Airi.
Ariyama first noticed how covered in dust they were. Whichever route they took, it must've been a lot dirtier than the one he had taken.
"Guys? Oh, I'm so glad you're OK. But listen, there's been–"
"Don't worry, Ariyama-kun, we heard everything. We were heading in this direction anyway. And you'll be surprised how thin these stone walls are. Though, it was probably more thanks to the echoing."
Odomura, despite looking like she's been through hell, still gave him a kind smile.
Matsuragi nodded in agreement.
"Indeed. Luckily, we got here through an alternative path than you all. It's… a lot more dusty than we'd have liked, but it's clear of any boobytraps."
Matsuragi winced as he glanced at Koenji and Kazura leaning against the wall.
"We'll have to leave the topic of the person at fault for this alone for the time being. Right now, these two need to get out of here. And frankly… I think we should too."
Odomura nodded in agreement, her hands fiddling with the hem of her beige coat.
"Yeah, sorry, but this place is seriously giving me the creeps. I only really came here because I didn't want to be left out. And I was also invited personally, so it'd feel bad if I didn't go. But right now, I'm regretting my choices."
Ariyama ignored the blazing pain in his left hand for a moment, just to give Odomura somewhat of a reassuring smile.
"Look, we're all beat up and dirty and in over our heads. You're not the only one wanting to ditch this place."
At that, Odomura's face lit up.
"So… does that mean you're leaving with us?"
Ariyama caught himself before he spoke. In the spur of the moment, he had almost said yes.
But that would've been a lie.
Had he gone through all this hardship just to get into this place, only to run away like a coward after no more than twenty minutes?
Over his dead body.
"I… don't think so, Airi. Sorry, but I just need to stay. I can't really explain but–"
"OK guys, enough of the politeness, please."
That was Kazura, now leaning forward slightly, her hand stained red from where she held her injury.
"It's bad enough that my pretty tanned shoulder is all messed up, but Koenji is in serious danger. I know no one likes him, but we're not leaving him to die."
"My thoughts exactly. We're wasting time as it is, which is a precious commodity in this scenario."
As he spoke, Matsuragi leaned down and used all his strength to pull Koenji up, slinging an arm around his waist to support him. The chubby boy just gurgled something, his face scrunched up in a mix of pain, resistance and impatience. Ariyama was more shocked at Matsuragi's strength. The guy looked as skinny as it got, but maybe his brain wasn't the only thing that was fortified.
"Even if that damned dust keeps fogging up my glasses, I'm confident in saying that I can retrace our steps and head back to the entrance. We have no time to lose. Odomura, if you'd kindly bring Kazura with you…"
"Sure thing, Kento-kun!"
As Odomura crouched down to scoop Kazura to her feet, the noticeably-quiet Yaranagi finally spoke up.
"So what the hell are you gonna tell the authorities when you come to them with a guy with an arrow through his goddamned arm?"
"If we're lucky, not much. If we're not, then I'll just explain to them that it must have been a trap laid out amongst the trees, likely from a hunter trying to catch some game."
Yaranagi crossed his arms, nodded in agreement.
"OK. OK, that should work. Just get them out of here before anything worse happens. And, uh, stay safe… or whatever.
Odomura pulled Kazura beside her, looking back to Yaranagi with a bright grin.
"We'll do our best!"
Matsuragi looked back too.
"Of course. And you're sure no one else wants to come with?"
"Nah man. Missing something as interesting as this? Never."
Ariyama shook his head.
"I… can't, not when I'm here for a reason."
Even Jack, now finally sitting up, grunting the whole way, spoke with a muffled voice.
"I'm not leaving this place. Captain goes down with the ship, and all that. And I also need to prove to some of you that I'm not who you think I am."
He made no attempt at hiding the nasty glare he gave Ariyama out of the corner of his eye.
Matsuragi turned his back on them, and began stumbling away, Koenji's heavy form weighing him down.
"Very well. Good luck, all of you."
Odomura scampered to catch up, Kazura hanging off her but actually able to move in a little run alongside her, unlike Koenji.
And just like that, they were gone.
Ariyama waited until their receding footsteps disappeared before he let himself curl into a ball on the floor, clutching his hand.
"Damn… This hurts…"
Yaranagi shook his head and laughed incredulously as he came to one knee beside Ariyama.
"Look bro, I get that punching the shit out of Jack was fun, but do you regret your broken fist?"
Through his contorted face, Ariyama looked at his friend with a wild expression.
"Nah, not one bit."
"Oh, now we're acting all in-charge now, huh?"
It was Jack, who was standing on his two feet despite the swelling on the half of his face. His lip was busted and his nose was bleeding.
"Listen you little brat, I demand an apology. How the hell was I supposed to know that all this was going to–"
Yaranagi whirled around to face him with a glare.
"I for one don't give a damn. You're you, so opinion invalidated right off the bat. Now don't forget, there's still the other three who are with us. For all we know, they could be lying dead on the floor with arrows through their heads. Let's go check up on them."
Jack's face burned with fury, his jaw flexing. But he contained his outburst and just gave Yaranagi a deadly stare as he walked past him.
Ariyama, even with the flaring pain from his bruised fist, had a feeling of satisfaction seeing Jack knocked down a peg or two. Even if he didn't get his big moment on this outing after all, punching Jack Hayakawa in the face multiple times sure was worth it.
Their footsteps were echoing through the barren hallways. It was all so quiet that even the slight whoosh of the breeze or skittering stone from being kicked made Ariyama instinctively jump.
He was bringing up the rear of their reduced group, with Jack hobbling along in the middle, holding his bruised face, while Yaranagi was leading them.
It was eerie how quiet it had gotten, even only five or so minutes after the whole scene with bolts flying and fists flying and arguing.
If that did one thing right, it got Jack to shut up.
"Hey, you guys hear that?"
Yaranagi suddenly stopped ahead of them, making Ariyama and Jack stop too. Ariyama closed his eyes to focus on whatever sound Yaranagi was talking about. It was still difficult to hear much of anything in this place, even with the echoing hallways.
Nothing yet.
Just the same sounds: human breathing and the breeze and distant voices and…
Distant voices?
Ariyama opened his eyes, locked eyes with Yaranagi, and nodded.
"Yeah, I hear it. That must be the others, right? So they must be close by. I'm glad."
Jack groaned loudly, clearly just looking for attention.
"Oh, thank God. Let's hope they won't start beating on me for something I never even did–"
"Shut up, Jack."
"Shut up, Jack."
Jack spluttered in disbelief at the attack on him, before scoffing and walking ahead alone. Once they were alone, Yaranagi leaned into Ariyama.
"So… if he gets hit by one of those bolts…"
"I won't be in a rush to save him. I'll say that much."
Yaranagi huffed a laugh at Ariyama's response, but looked at him oddly for a few seconds.
"Yeah, and on an unrelated note, is… everything OK?"
Ariyama blinked in confusion for a second.
"Yes? What are you on about?"
Yaranagi licked his lips, a rare occurrence. He only ever did that if he was genuinely talking about something that he was embarrassed about.
"Well, just today in school. And now here in this creepy hellhole. All of a sudden, you seem distant…"
Ariyama rolled his eyes.
"Why do you even care? It's not like Yaranagi Yasuke to care about his friends' feelings."
Ariyama instantly wanted to take it all back. His heart had been racing as Yaranagi had finally asked the question Ariyama had wanted him to for the last few hours. His mind was running way behind his mouth.
Yaranagi took a step back, narrowing his eyes accusingly.
"Huh? Come on, man. We both know I joke around but we can also both tell I'm being serious about this."
"And you're only asking me now because?"
"Because I didn't notice it until now? God, Saato, you're impossible sometimes…"
Those words made Ariyama's already-shortening temper break further.
"Oh, I get it. I'm the impossible one? Says the one who's just pretending to not be a fake-as-can-be friend."
"What? How the hell am I 'fake'?!"
"Oh I dunno. Maybe when you weren't gonna tell me you were going to this place in the first place? The only reason I came is because… Uh, Jack told me, so I decided to come. He already asked you to go though, didn't he? And for some unknown reason, you weren't even gonna ask me if I was even going? I thought we were best friends, and isn't that what best friends do?"
Yaranagi crossed his arms and chuckled nastily.
"No way. No way that's what's gotten you so riled up. And I mean really riled up. I've never seen you get this pissed at really anything before. So sorry I did the unforgivable act of forgetting to ask you. How could I ever be redeemed?"
"You know, you use that excuse a lot, huh? If you're starting to forget all this stuff more and more often, do you know where you need to go? A doctor, bro."
Yaranagi flinched, as if he was ready to knock Ariyama on his ass, but he refrained at the last moment. His hands balled into white-knuckled fists, his breathing shallow and uneven, Yaranagi trembled as he glared at Ariyama, his seething building.
Ariyama couldn't deny that his heart skipped a few beats when he came face-to-face with Yaranagi's intimidating anger on full display.
He let out a breath to calm his own nerves.
"Look, forget it, OK? Let's just move on, and get out of this creepy hellhole, eh?"
He managed a meek smile and held out a hand to shake.
Ariyama had managed to quell his own frustration, but clearly Yaranagi would need a bit more time, as he just gave Ariyama a nearly-murderous look before ignoring his outstretched hand and walking off after Jack.
Ariyama just stared after him, mouth hanging open, hand still expecting the phantom of another hand to shake.
He slowly retracted his hand and instead curled it into a fist and smashed it against the side of his leg again and again.
What was he thinking? Did all that just happen or was it a dream? All that pettiness made Ariyama want to vomit. But it was in the heat of the moment and he couldn't really control himself at the time.
"Good work, you damn idiot…"