2 - Lost, Confused, Scared

Hiroshi remained in place. His breathing was completely off rhythm, his eyesight was blurry. His hands hurt from the restraints. He knew that he had nowhere to go except the town, but he also acknowledged his own status as a hostage.

He thought of running away, but one look down told him about the ankle monitor attached by his foot. Besides, he was in a completely random place in North Africa, where would he even go?

There was only one person standing next to him.

“Hey, are...are you alright?” Yumichi asked, quickly approaching him and helping him stand back up.

“W-what...” Hiroshi couldn’t find the right thoughts. His eyes were a little teary. “Why...”

Yumichi didn’t know what to say either.

“Because...because I’m the son of...” Hiroshi said, stuttering a little. He took a deep breath. “All because of my last name...?”

“I don’t know what type of political stuff is going on...” Yumichi said. He grabbed Hiroshi’s hand. “Come, let’s go to Rin. She’ll-”

“Did you know?” Hiroshi abruptly asked, raising his voice.

“Huh?”

“You knew they were gonna do this to me, didn’t you?!” Hiroshi lashed out, pushing Yumichi away. “T-t-that’s why you and that woman were trying to be so friendly with me! That’s what this was all about!”

“What? No, why would I do that?” Yumichi said, visibly upset. “I’d never hurt you! I’m your friend!”

“Then...” Hiroshi continued. “Why did all of this happen?”

“I don’t know.” Yumichi said. “I thought Rin was just going to take us to a safer place. I didn’t know anything about this.”

“I...I guess...” Hiroshi said. “I was asleep the whole time, right after drinking tea...”

They shared a silence.

“They...they almost shot me...” Hiroshi said, tearing up even more, slowly bringing his hands to his slightly puffy eyes, trying to wipe them before Yumichi sees them.

“Hey, it’s okay.” Yumichi tried to comfort him. “As long as big sis and her boyfriend are here, no one will hurt you.”

“R-really?”

“Definitely!” Yumichi cheered. “Big sis will kill everyone here if that happens!" He said as he went on and on rambling about Ichika’s achievements, even making up stories on the fly to make her look more grandiose and dangerous. Hiroshi was relieved that he was protected, he even laughed a little.

“You really are obsessed with your sister...” Hiroshi smiled.

“Of course! Who wouldn’t be?!” Yumichi said. “She’s the best.”

As he continued rambling, Hiroshi took a moment to indulge in his own thoughts. Clouds were starting to assemble in the sky, the best decision would be to head to the town before a potential sandstorm began.

“Hey, um...” Hiroshi spoke up.

“Yeah?”

“Do you...” Hiroshi continued. “Do you think my dad is looking for me right now?”

“Of course he is!” Yumichi said. “He’s your dad, right? He’s trying to find you as hard as possible!”

“Really?” Hiroshi questioned it. He remembered all those times they failed to go out, or he got scolded, or he even got ignored. But at the same time, he noticed another detail - the single thing that Kaito allocated all of his resources to was his safety. Staying with Rin, having armed guards around him all the time, those sorts of things.

“Yes, I think so!” Yumichi smiled. “He’s worried about you.”

“Yeah.” Hiroshi nodded. “You’re right. He probably prepared for this type of thing happening. I mean, he’s the most powerful man on the planet, and I’m...I’m just a way to get leverage.”

“Mhm.”

“There’s probably a phone here somewhere, I should try and call him.” He said, turning towards the town. ”I’ll get dad to pick me up.”

“Hm, I don’t think you can.” Yumichi said. “I think whoever kidnapped you probably made sure that you can’t call anyone. Otherwise they’d be idiots.”

“Surely there has to be a landline somewhere. Or...at least something I can do.” Hiroshi said. “If dad is trying to find me, the best I can do is help him. I’ll try to do as much as I can here, even if it means fighting.”

“You want to...fight?” Yumichi asked.

“Yeah. I have some soul prowess, I’ll think of something.” Hiroshi said. “I can’t run away because they attached this stupid thing to me, but if I can fight back...”

“I don’t think you can fight big sis’s friends...but if you believe in yourself, so do I!” Yumichi said. “Let’s go kick some butt!”

“Right. Let’s just...try. I know my dad will be here soon.” Hiroshi smiled a little. “I have faith in him.”

“You don’t hate him anymore!” Yumichi cheered.

“I never hated him! I just...” Hiroshi said. “We have a difficult relationship, I guess. But he’s still my dad. I love him, and I think he’s the coolest person ever. Even though I've just known him for two or so years, he tried his hardest to create a family for me when I had nothing and knew no one. So...I can never hate him.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

They went to the town.

...

The town wasn’t a city or better yet a large district, it was more so a modest collection of buildings, mostly one or two-story houses that were there and some tents. Supplied by a small river in the distance, the town mostly thrived off of local trade, carpet manufacturing and agriculture.

Mukawa and his team only had to tell their cause to the locals once to get their approval to stay. All communication with the outside world was cut off, no internet, no mobile data, no phone calls would ever be made. They had everything they needed there - areas to keep conventional weapons, a supply of food and water, and even their own hospital with modern equipment bought or stolen from hospitals from other, bigger cities.

One hospital room, which was armed with the most modern equipment, housed the two strongest soldiers of the Heisei...

Rin carefully watched over Ichika, who was barely responsive. She laid on a hospital bed with silky white sheets, with a plethora of IV wires attached to her body. She needed some serious treatment. She could only occasionally move her eyes around and look at the environment before fading back into sleep or even unconsciousness.

On the other bed was Sakuto, whose condition was much, much more critical. The devastating raid on the stronghold brought him not just to death’s door, but invited him to the other side for a tea party. He was barely alive, he was more like a corpse than a human. Rin carefully adjusted the medicine administered to both soulfuls.

“Ichika is exhausted. Sakuto though...how the hell is this monster still alive?”

“I’ll have to try carrying out the same technique that was used to bring him back to life and on his feet in America. By having him just sleep it out, and letting the body do the rest. But even in that case, the risk of something going wrong or the process taking too long is still there.”

“His body sustained way too many terrible injuries. Even with his...shadow manipulation and regeneration, he couldn’t keep up. Add on top of that the extreme exhaustion he suffered...”

Rin even remembered the threats he said.

“People spew all sorts of things out of their mouth when they’re in a state like this...but still, he scares me. Even when he entered the gym in Tokyo...I knew something was different about him.”

Rin then remembered how the same bruised and battered creature laying on the bed was the soulful that she shared a table with not too long ago. She remembered how even when it came to tiny little gestures, he paid attention to Ichika and cared for her like she was the most precious thing in the world. She also remembered that he, alongside Ichika, had other friends too.

And those two were in a hospital room right next to them, but covered up and awaiting burial. It made Rin’s heart shrivel up in grief. She and her two patients were the last ones left from Hayk’s group.

It was one thing for the adults to die, especially if these were adults willing to sacrifice themselves to protect the younger ones. But for them to die as well...

She heard a knock on the door.

“Can we come in?” Yumichi asked, peeking through the door. Rin quickly adjusted her glasses.

“Come in. But...well, you already know how they look.” Rin sighed. Two two entered. Yumichi immediately went towards his sister, carefully looking over her and patting her head a few times. Ichika, with whatever strength she had, looked at him and smiled a little.

“Big sis, you’ll be healthy soon, okay?” Yumichi reassured her. “And the people who did this to you, they’ll pay! I’ll make them pay!”

“Rest assured, the people who did this to her are all dead.” Rin said.

Hiroshi approached Sakuto’s body, and it looked even more horrible from up close. He started panicking a little, his breath unstable.

“Woah...”

“He endured this much...?”

“Even if he looks like he’s dead...something is scary

about him.”

“Will he be alright?” Hiroshi asked, a little concerned.

“Hopefully.” Rin said. She heard more sets of footsteps approach the room and turned to face the door.

Mukawa, Haruki and Kana entered the room. Hiroshi almost instinctively stepped back, even making sure to stand behind Sakuto’s hospital bed, as if thinking that the latter would protect him. Mukawa quickly approached and observed the two beds, his allies stayed by the entrance.

“What’s their conditions?” Mukawa asked. “No positivity, just the whole, unfiltered truth.”

“Beyond critical.” Rin said. “Yumichi, Hiroshi, why don’t you two leave the room for a little bit?”

“No way, I’m not leaving.” Yumichi protested. And Hiroshi didn’t really have much to say. Mukawa looked at them, and then at Rin again.

“There’s no way to get him out of here, I guess.” Rin said. “Ichika’s condition is horrible, but not completely unsalvageable. We can try our hardest to get her back on her feet, but there’s no guarantee if she’ll be able to utilize all of her strength, let alone fight altogether.”

“Right.” Mukawa said, already sounding disappointed and angered by the news. “What about Sakuto?”

“He looks fucking horrible. Just what kind of fucking monster were you fighting in that damn stronghold?!”

“His condition is...impossible to know.” Rin said. “I don’t know how he still has a pulse.”

“Soulfuls like him are expected to be too stubborn to die.” Mukawa said. “How long until he’s able to fight at full power?”

“Might be too long for whatever you’re planning.”

“And how long until he’s able to fight in general?” Mukawa asked.

“You’re asking me a question I do not know the answers to. Like I said, his condition can only be described by two words - ‘miraculously alive’. If it soothes you, you can hope that another miracle happens.” Rin replied. “I wholeheartedly have no clue. I’ve never dealt with this type of thing before.”

“I see...” Mukawa complained. “Can he hear us?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he somehow can.” Rin said. “I’m letting him rest under controlled conditions so his own regeneration can mend his wounds.”

“What about a soul crystal?” Mukawa asked.

“Wouldn’t matter. His body is the problem.” Rin said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if his mental state is a mess too. He had to carry his friends' corpses here.”

“Well, I guess you should try harder.” Mukawa said. “I need him to be alive and kicking.”

“You think this is easy?” Rin asked.

“I think you can pull off a miracle if you try hard enough.” Mukawa replied. “Anyhow, can you leave him unattended?”

“Only for short periods of time, why?”

“Great. Then follow us.” Mukawa said. “We’re holding a meeting to discuss our operation. You’ll be there since you’ll be participating in it too. Just...I don’t know, leave the kids here, there’s an alarm mechanism in these rooms. Tell them to shake the bed hard enough and it’ll let the whole town know one of them is busted up.”

“Right.” Rin said, a little discontent. She followed Mukawa out of the room. “Kids, please watch them carefully.”

“I know.” Yumichi said. “No one will hurt big sis.”

“Come on, chop chop.” Mukawa told Kana and Haruki, who, although a little annoyed by the comment, followed him as well.

Everyone would be gathered in an enclosed dining area - which the locals helped transform into a type of meeting room. Rows of chairs, plenty of soulfuls, and a goal to kill a seemingly unstoppable deity.