[F01-PP] [Ryoubai & Akatsu] Trapped!

[Akatsu 0]

Kat was now caught between a rock and a hard place. Normally she wouldn't have involved Ryou in her fleecing, but if she hadn't the man wouldn't have agreed to give Ryou a Nervegear and Kat would have been all alone in this game. She winced when Ryou said her full name, like she was a dog being scolded, and was ready to cry given her friend's anger. She sniffled as her eyes grew glassy and looked into her eyes, "Look, usually it never goes this far. I didn't expect for him to find us. Yes... I promised... I promised us both to him for a night..."

Kat admitted this and pulled herself away from the both of them, forcefully if Ryou had been holding onto her. She looked back at the man, "We're all trapped here! Why can't you just let us go?!" The man raised an eyebrow, and a sneer drew across his face, his pale brown eyes glistening in the sun. "Let you go?! It's exactly because we're all trapped here that I want my promise. For as long as you two are stuck in this game with me, I'll have my way with you," he stated flatly, the grin never leaving his face.

Kat grew pale and backed away further. She had never actually kept any of these promises to any man or woman. She had never even stayed the night with any of them. And she had never really planned to. For all the bravado and charisma she had, Kat had planned to only give herself to someone special, all she had wanted was the money! "Ryou... I'm sorry!" she told her friend, as she turned and made a mad dash for the nearest alley. All she heard behind her as she cried was, "HEY! GET BACK HERE!"

[Ryoubai 0]

Ryou stood there in shock. She didn't even look particularly mad, just scared. She had never done anything like that with anyone before and she wasn't about to start with him. She reached out to Kat as tears welled up in her eyes, She flinched as she moved away from them, moving her hand back. She looked at the man with a look of disgust on her face. She wondered how anyone could be this cruel. She wondered how he could look so happy when talking about something so vile. She imagined many people's true colors were showing now that they were trapped somewhere for an indefinite amount of time. The anger grew inside of her once again.

"You won't have anything with us! Leave us alone!!" She screamed. She got in front of Kat once again. She didn't look like much but she would make sure he knew not to mess with them ever again. If there was one thing that made her furious, it was men like him. "Back away. Now!" She commanded. She hoped he would listen. She really didn't want to have to fight someone right off the bat, but if that's what it took to protect Kat, she would do it. She glanced back at Kat before keeping a careful eye on the man. Her steel grey eyes seemed like they wanted to pierce through him.

Ryou's eyes widened and her brows furrowed as she turned around to see Kat making a run for it. It seemed like she was headed for an alleyway, that wouldn't be good if this man wanted to follow. "Aki, wait! I'm sorry!" She stifled a worried sigh. She realized she was probably too harsh on poor Kat who was already feeling scared and horrible about the whole situation. She turned back to the man, frowning at him. "Do not follow us. If you do, I will make sure you regret it." Ryou mustered the threat with all she could. She hoped he would take a hint and get lost. She turned around and sprinted in the direction that Kat ran, praying she would find her.

[Akatsu 0]

Kat ran breathlessly through the alleyways of the Starting City. There were a surprising amount of people here, huddled together, hiding, crying. She did her best to keep running but also not trip on them as she ran. She zig-zagged this way and that, with no real sense of what direction she was headed in. Her vision was blurry from the tears, and she was struggling to keep her eyes open anyway.  That man wasn't supposed to find her, not ever. Now she didn't want Ryou to find her either. Ryou knew her shame now and had to have hated her. All because Kat wanted to play with this new technology. Now it was coming back to bite her.

Kat gasped as she lost track of the people on the ground and tripped over a small boy. She hit the ground hard, but once again felt no pain, not even a scrape or anything adorned her palms. She groaned as she looked back at the boy, whose eyes were just as wide and filled with tears as hers. "I'm sorry..." she muttered to him, but the boy just put his head back in his knees and arms and began sobbing again. Kat didn't know why he was crying, but his situation probably wasn't much better than hers. He probably wanted his mom or dad and was stuck here. If Kat was being honest, she probably wanted her mom and dad too. As the thoughts filled her with grief again, she started to bawl, and the kid looked up again at her, seemingly shocked that she was crying too.

"You didn't hurt me..." he said quietly, and Kat wiped away her tears with her kimono sleeve and shook her head. "No, no, it's not that..." she admitted, "I just... I was thinking about my mom and dad, and how upset they would probably be at me for what I've done wrong. The trouble I've caused. And of my friend who probably hates me now for abandoning her and making stupid adult promises that neither of us should have to keep." The boy continued to stare at her wide-eyed. The kid couldn't have been more than 14 years old, but instinctively he still reached out to Kat, and gently placed his hand on her head. Kat sniffled and stopped crying for a moment to look at him, and he smiled at her, "Would you like a hug?" It was a pure question full of the innocence of a child, and almost made Kat cry more, but she held it together and gave a small nod. The boy pulled her into a hug, and Kat ended up leaning her head against his, pulling him into her own embrace. Two strangers, finding comfort in a scary world.

Kat heard footsteps run by her, it was multiple sets, heavy like grown men. Then she heard, "Find them! Find the girls! They can't have gone far amidst..." she felt a man's eyes graze her back with his sight, "...amidst these children and their babysitters!" And then the footsteps charged off. Kat hardly cared. All she felt was the boy's warmth. His shallow breathing against her heartbeat. The warm wetness of tears staining her kimono. There were those who were scared, and there were those who were taking advantage of that fear. What a world they found themselves in.

[Ryoubai 0]

Ryou ran as far as her feet would carry her. "Aki?!! Please, I'm sorry! Where are you?!" She screamed out, panicked. Her lungs burned from screaming and running. She had to stop. She put her hands on her knees, panting heavily. She was trying to hold back tears. Her eyes were starting to sting from the tears welling up in them. She inhaled sharply. She let out a hic, then a couple more as she let the tears run. They dripped onto the cobblestone street. She was alone now. It took them a long time to find each other, now with her running off and with that man possibly following them, she wasn't sure she would see her again. She had to pull herself together. She had to find her. She couldn't leave her alone in a place like this. She took a few deep breaths, then kept running. She grit her teeth as she tried to run through the pain. 

She ran through several alleyways, tripping on her own feet a few times. She always got back up, looking determined and kept running until she finally couldn't anymore. She had to stop in an alleyway. There were more people than she expected to be in this alleyway. They were probably all just looking for a place to cry, she thought. She coughed and sputtered. She really had to be more active, especially here. She heard a man yelling in the distance, did he have people with him now?. Her eyes widened as she turned around. She hid the arched doorway of a building and tried to calm her breathing down. They didn't even get near her as she relaxed only slightly. She sighed with relief as she continued her search a few minutes later. She had to be quiet, if she was yelling for Kat, then they could find them. She walked, glancing at the people in the alley before coming across a familiar pair of blonde pigtails.

"Aki...? Oh, thank God! I thought they caught you!" She crouched down to be at eye level with her. "I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have scolded you like that. I know you didn't mean for it to end up like this. You couldn't have known..." She realized a kid was there and her eyes widened. "Oh-- I'm sorry. I was looking for her." She said, embarrassed she had obviously interrupted something. She would understand if Kat didn't want to talk with her after this. She looked down, waiting for Kat's verdict. 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Ryoubai

[Akatsu 0]

Despite her friend showing up, the kid in Kat’s arms never actually looked up. Kat gently stroked his head. She looked at Ryou, her eyes puffy, and tried her best to smile. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s all my fault, like usual. I just don’t usually have to face any consequences is all.”

Kat’s tears welled up in the corner of her eyes, but the small smile stayed on her lips as she looked down at the kid in her arms. “I always get away with it. And you don’t have to lie to me and tell me that it’s not wrong that I con men for money so I can live a lavish lifestyle. I’ve known a while… I just didn’t care. It was fun and I enjoyed the rewards.”

The tears were flowing again, but her crying remained silent and stoic this time, “Someone finally caught me in a cage with the lion. I have to face that fact, for once.” Kat couldn’t help the dry chuckle that escaped her lips, as she looked back to Ryou, “I think he’s asleep. Maybe we should just all rest a while. It has been a long day. Goodness knows we can’t afford an inn room. But even if it’s in the alley, at least we’ll be together.”

Kat offered her hand to her friend, raw tears staining her face, but a faded smile still ever present in her optimism. For now, she was happy to be alive, and she needed to hold onto hope where she could.

[Ryoubai 0]

Ryou listened to her carefully, her own tears streaming down her face. She thought that Kat would have been upset at her because she scolded her. It didn’t come from a place of malice, she just wanted them both to be safe. They no longer had the luxuries that they had back home. Kat was going to have to see that man for as long as they were stuck here. Kat probably thought she wouldn’t see him again, and to be fair, neither did she. They had such a hard time finding each other at the beginning, though in a way Ryou was glad she didn’t find her right away. Before they got the mirrors, Ryou styled herself after the more likable Kat.

”I know you didn’t mean for it to turn out this way… I know how scared you were and I shouldn’t have yelled. It didn’t help anything.” Ryou sighed and gently wiped the tears off of Kat’s face. “Even if it doesn’t seem like it now, we’ll make it through.” She sat on the ground and then looked at the kid. “I’m not sure how he can sleep on the ground like that but I suppose I could do the same.” 

She looked down at Kat’s hand and gently grabbed it. She snuggled up to the both of them to go to sleep. “It’ll be okay, Aki. I promise to protect you, no matter what. I’d rather be here with you anyway.” She said in a hushed tone, careful not to wake the kid. “Let’s get some rest then. We’re going to need it.”

 

[Akatsu 0]

Thread Complete!
Akatsu
200 Col
612 EXP

Ryoubai
200 Col
612 EXP
 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Akatsu