Chapter Text
“Don’t you dare throw that snowba-, goddammit!”
If burning glares could kill, the look Ryo gave his companion as he brushed snow off the front of his t-shirt would have melted him and the frozen piece of hell they were currently trudging through. Ueda didn’t seem concerned with it, though, which only fueled Ryo’s irritation. He didn’t go so far as to actually laugh at Ryo, which might have won him a good whack on the arm, but his eyes did the laughing for Ueda while the blond sucked his lips in so that their fullness was pressed into a thin, bemused line.
“I hate snow,” Ryo grumbled, and Ueda nodded.
The snowstorm had been sudden, to put it lightly. It had struck within a few hours of wiltering, midsummer weather. In fact, it had been an uncommonly hot day. . . but that didn’t matter anymore. The heat was a welcome memory for them as they trekked through the icy woods. Ryo barely considered himself and Ueda to be acquaintances, let alone friends, but there they were braving the freak blizzard together instead of huddling up inside their own apartment units, where they should be. As the two men trudged through the thigh-high snow, it grew more and more obvious that there was nothing natural about this storm.
But they already knew that, too.
The anger that sparked, fresh and wild as this weather, in Ryo’s eyes startled Ueda a little, but he hid it with a smile-- except it was more of a smirk. Ryo really couldn’t see what Ueda was so amused about. At least Ryo had long pants on, with the snow almost reaching his thigh. Ueda, although Ryo begrudgingly acknowledged that his height gave him a bit of an advantage, was wearing shorts and, therefore, had to be freezing all of his leg hairs off.
Almost on cue, a tremor wracked Ueda’s body, and the slim man shivered from head to toe quite violently; the laughter vanishing from his eyes. Ryo’s anger was put on the back-burner as he was reminded of how suddenly this blizzard had struck them. It was the craziest thing to think about how, less than four hours ago, they’d been guests at the same house party -- one of the many house parties thrown by the gentry they both had attended that summer -- and now they were outside City wall, in the forbidden Outcast territory, trudging up a mountain through a thick, unforgiving forest.
If they hadn’t fled City in such a hurry, Ryo would have thought to get his HUV, or hover utility vehicle… but Ueda had been in too much of a rush to chase after the unit that captured the Outcast named Taguchi Junnosuke, or as Ueda called him, Junno. Ryo hadn’t exactly chased after Ueda, but he couldn’t just stand there while... this guy he knew ran off to his death. Ryo wasn’t cold like that. It wasn’t even as if Ryo had considered his actions though… He just saw Ueda run after the soldiers with their guns and armor, and that screaming Outcast, Taguchi. Ryo had taken off after Ueda without a second thought.
It had been hot outside the manor house when the Regime soldiers crashed the party to confiscate the Outcast, and Ryo had felt the sun beat hard on his back as he tore down the street. He’d thought he was a pretty fast runner. It was part of his training and in his physical regimen for his job, but Ueda was so freaking fast. Ryo could vividly remember the sweat pouring off his back as Ueda ran ahead of him until the soldiers’ unit vehicle crossed the Wall.
It was within a quarter hour of the transport van leaving City that the snow started to fall, and Ueda had started to really panic. Ryo could understand his response, though, because… he was an Officer of the Regime himself. So Ryo knew the fate that befell Junno, and any other escaped Outcast if caught.
Ryo had almost been in awe of how quickly Ueda dropped the naivety act he’d been putting on all summer. Ueda had thrown himself at the gate as it closed behind the vehicle, knowing it was pointless. Then, the sweaty, panting blond turned to Ryo and gasped words Ryo might not ever forget.
“We have to follow them!” Ueda had started.
“What? Outside the Wall? I’m sorry Ueda, but I can’t. I don’t have those clearances…” Ryo had replied, shaking his head, but then Ueda had continued.
“I know another way. I can get us outside and to the Compound, but I can’t get into it, and I know that’s where they’re taking Junno. You’ve worked there, Ryo. You told me you’ve been stationed there. You can get us in.”
“Uh…”
“Please Ryo! There isn’t much time… I need your help.”
Ryo would like to say, in that moment, that he had immediately thought of harmless and terrified Junno-- another frequent guest of the house parties he attended in City-- but for some reason, Ryo had this strangest satisfaction knowing that Ueda trusted him enough to be honest and ask for his help. So Ryo had, again almost without consideration of the implications against him, followed Ueda through several hidden passages in unassuming buildings bordering the Wall, before suddenly, they were on the outside. Which was mildly frightening to a City citizen, but he continued with Ueda, because he knew that once Ueda got to the Compound, he would need Ryo. And Ryo maybe liked that.
He didn’t know why it mattered, but Ryo hoped Ueda wouldn’t start the act again now that they were outside the Wall. As he thought this, Ryo looked at the other man, and noticed how Ueda seemed to be shivering even more; how his hand trembled as he rubbed his arm. Ryo had to say something.
“Well, now my shirt is freaking wet and cold, not to mention my jeans, and you’re not dressed to hike up a mountain through all this snow either,” Ryo huffed, “Ueda, we need to find something else to wear!”
Ueda looked thoughtful, “Well… Do you know anywhere out here we could find warmer clothes? Does the, ah, the Regime have a station somewhere out here?”
“Ueda…” Ryo started, sighing, “Don’t you know a place or someone near here?”
“Outside the Wall?” Ueda quickly looked down, towards his snow-covered feet, “Of course not. I mean, you know I’m friends with Junno, and so I knew… what he is, and that he came from out here… But that doesn’t mean I know anyone else out here, or where anything out here is. Just… just what, you know, Junno told me.”
“And Kame.”
“Well Kame always had connectio-- Wait!” Ueda’s face snapped up, eyes dark and questioning, “What do you know about Kame?”
“You mean that he isn’t the affluent son of a diplomat? Please, Tatsuya, give me some credit. It’s my job to look for Outcasts, and all their nuances. Plus, those who were caught before have video files on the intranet at the Compound. You want to know how many times I’ve had to watch that face of his looking through viewfinders, and what he was able to see? The images he cast on the Compound walls? Not to mention his other power.”
“Shut up. What are you going to do to him? Why haven’t you done anything yet?”
“I… I don’t know,” Ryo shrugged, “He hasn’t done anything dangerous yet, and he pretty much keeps to himself. He’s not, like, actively spreading the contaminant--”
“Kame. is. not. contaminated.” Ueda asserted through clenched teeth.
“Ok, ok, sorry. I know. It’s just what they tell us to call it,” Ryo backpedaled, but then seemed to remember the point as to why he brought up Kame at all, “Anyway, Tatsuya… I know--”
“You know what I am, too. Outcast,” Ueda finished the sentence for him, and Ryo hadn’t expected the other’s face to look so defeated, but it did.
“Yeah, well… I don’t think anyone else has recognized you. You do look very different. Your hair was longer, the color was different… More burnt? Red? The only thing you haven’t changed about your appearance is your face, and…”
Ryo left the sentence trail off unfinished. He didn’t want to say that he’d pretty much recognized Ueda immediately, at the very first house party over a year ago, because Ueda’s face was the one he knew best. He’d watched Ueda’s videos more than he had anyone else’s. No reason. The man still appeared as slender as he always had, but there hadn’t been videos of Ueda unclothed-- not that he’d looked for any, of course -- and Ryo knew now, from their own recent escape over City Wall, that Ueda was much more muscular than he appeared. Ryo hadn’t expected that at all.
“Ryo,” Ueda’s voice was quiet, but the white world around them seemed to go silent as Ryo listened, “I’ve known you since the Christmas before last… Why haven’t you said anything? How long did you know? What are you going to do to us? You’re an Officer of the Regime. What are we doing right now? When we get to Junno, and I get him to stop this winter, are you going to let us escape? Or is this some sort of scheme to get me to calm Junno’s storm, and then you capture me, too? Because whatever they’re doing to him, it must be something pretty fucking horrific if he’s covering the entire state in snow and, if the radio transmissions are correct, is starting to freeze the estuaries, beyond the rivers, and into the sea.”
“Oh shit, no,” Ryo grimaced, and his voice was sharp, “Tatsuya, just, no. We’re getting Junno, we’re stopping this crazy winter he’s caused in the middle of summer, and then… I don’t know. I’ll see if I can’t get you two papers to get to a different state. One near Borderlands.”
“I guess you’re not the only Officer having a change of heart, after that public… massacre we saw today,” Ueda nodded, satisfied. Besides taking Junno, the Regime’s elite units had held a city-wide attack on illegal Outcasts living there in secret. Many, as they’d seen on their handhelds, were slaughtered openly for not coming quietly. The only reason Junno wasn’t dead (yet) was because he was marked for further study at the Compound, from where he and several other Outcasts had escaped two years ago.
“This isn’t a change of heart,” Ryo mumbled, rubbing his arms. They’d been standing still too long.
“What is it then? You’ve been an Officer as long as I’ve known you.”
“It’s just… something else,” Ryo responded, then barked, “So do you know where we can get some proper clothes out here or not?!”
“Yeah… We’re heading towards an Outcast bunker. They’ll have supplies.”
“You think it’s still active? That the Regime hasn’t shut it down since you were last out here?”
Ueda blinked, then answered, “Yeah… Besides checking the radio broadcasts, I listened for the closest Outcast activity as soon as we were over the Wall.”
“All the way back there? And without amplifying headphones… Your hearing is pretty amazing, huh?” Ryo said through chattering teeth. They really needed to get moving.
“Um, yep,” Ueda said, and an almost bashful smile graced his face for a moment before he continued, “Damn, it’s cold. We better keep moving before this storm gets any worse.”
And so they trudged further through the snow, with Ueda more obviously leading the way. The snow whipped around them as a particularly strong gale blew through, and now Ryo wondered if the strength of the storm reflected whatever was happening to Junno at the Compound. Ryo wasn’t yet ready to spill his story to Ueda, but he knew well enough of the horrors that went on in that place. It was why he worked there. He needed inside, so he could actually do something… But all of it would be a waste if he froze to death in the wilderness.
A thought suddenly struck Ryo, and he gripped Ueda’s arm, causing the taller man’s eyes to widen in confusion.
“The heat! Your other power. The element one. It’s fire, isn’t it? Heat?” Ryo exclaimed.
“Wow, you really did read up on me. So yeah, it’s fire, but I can’t use it, Ryo,” Ueda shook his head, “It’s too dangerous. I can’t control it.”
“But at the Compound, I thought that’s what they were doing. Teaching you to contro--”
“Weren’t there videos for you to watch of my fire, Ryo? Or how they provoked it? How they forced it from me? They threw Yuuch… They threw someone I knew off a building, Ryo. And then I burnt that building to the ground.”
“That… that video must not have made it into the system. Might have been destroyed.”
“Might have.”
Ueda shook off the snow that was resting on his shoulders and hair, then started stomping off ahead of Ryo, who felt suddenly unsure if he was supposed to follow or not.
“Come on,” Ueda called over his shoulder, “We need to get to the bunker so we can save Junno… and our, you know, country. Whatever its worth might be.”
Ryo followed silently, the snow crunching beneath his feet, before his mouth and curiousity got the better of him, as they always did when he wasn’t the one under scrutiny.
“You think... You think his storm could cause those sort of casualties? To our country? You think he has the power to freeze us?”
“...No”, Ueda whispered.
Flashes of bright smiles, high laughter, fluid dancing, questionable dates, corny jokes, the most random restaurant choices, and late night karaoke all ran across Ueda’s mind as he promptly responded, “I think he’ll die first.”
Ryo didn’t have a response to that. He just ‘hmm’-ed, but Ueda probably didn’t even hear it over the wind. The taller blond already had his back to him, moving forward. For all Ryo knew (and all he understood of the Compound), Junno could be dying already. They would know if the snow stopped. Ryo was sure of that. But since it wasn’t stopping, he followed Ueda through the blizzard Junno was keeping going strong.
“Do you remember Suba--ah, Shibutani and Yasuda?” Ueda asked as they wove through snow-laden trees, then winced at the dirty look Ryo gave him.
“Subaru? Yasu? Of course I do,” Ryo retorted, still scowling, “You know we ran in the same group of friends. Did you honestly think I’d forget people because they were cast out?”
It was a favorite bit of conversation at social affairs and house parties, although it was never discussed outright with Ryo. He could still hear the whispers as he moved through a room. How Officer Nishikido upheld the law and protected City from the contaminated, even when it meant some of his closest friends were forced to become Outcast. Shibutani Subaru and Yasuda Shota were just two of them.
“But...” Ueda swallowed, and didn’t continue, though his eyes said it all. Nervous and wide, his eyes asked how Ryo could work where he did and live the lifestyle he had while his former friends lived outside the Wall, or worse.
“Ask me about my career choices another time, Ueda,” Ryo told him, “I’m not really up to it right now.”
“OK.”
They reached the bunker just as Ryo was certain he was about to lose some toes. The temperature just kept falling, like the snow. He couldn’t have borne another minute of it, but finally, Ueda pointed out a tiny trail of steam rising from a snow bank, and within seconds, Ueda had uncovered a hidden door that lead underground.
It was warm underground. Thank all the gods, it was warm.
They had barely turned a corner, though, before Ryo heard the tell-tale click of an unlocking-safety behind his head. He stopped, immediately, and hissed, “Ue-- Ueda…”
“UEDA!?” a voice behind him shouted just as Ueda turned back to look at Ryo.
Ueda’s eyes went from Ryo to the person holding a gun to his head, and he grinned.
“Maru. It’s been a long time,” Ueda greeted the person.
“Long time,” the Outcast, Maru responded, his voice laced with caution, “This guy’s with you? Safe?”
Ueda nodded, and Ryo exhaled the breath he’d been holding when he heard Maru slide the safety back into place and the gun back into its holster. He rubbed his hands a bit on his pants as he turned to greet the Outcast, but he was stricken immobile mid-turn.
Panic flooded Ryo immediately, but all he could control were his eyes, his ability to breath, and his ability to swallow. His muscles were frozen. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!
“Truth,” Maru, a thin man with soft brown hair and intelligent eyes, stepped around the petrified Ryo to get closer to Ueda, “This man is an officer of the Regime. From the Compound. Are you his prisoner? Is he forcing you to lead him to us? Ueda, do you need help?”
“No, no. This is Officer Nishikido Ryo, yes, but he’s helping me,” Ueda stated, then clarified, “He’s helping me save Junno.”
Maru paled, “Save Junno?! You mean he isn’t doing this on purpose!? What happened to--”
“Let go of Ryo and I’ll tell you, Nakamaru,” Ueda urged, and Maru dropped his hold on Ryo, causing the Officer to literally fall forward. He would have hit the ground if Ueda hadn’t lurched forward to catch him.
“Fucking… Outcasts…” Ryo gasped.
“Yeah, yeah,” Ueda returned, easing Ryo down against him as he knelt in the underground passage, waiting for Ryo to catch his breath and calm down. Nakamaru had never paralyzed him, but Ueda had seen and heard how traumatizing the experience could be, especially to someone unaware of his power.
Nakamaru watched the two men with a frown, but said nothing. Although the look he gave Ueda was one of explicit disapproval. Ueda saw it and sighed.
“Give him a sec to recover, Maru. Then get us to the commissary. We need something hot to drink. I’ll explain there.”
“Fine.”
Once Ryo was back on his feet, Nakamaru led them down a passageway. Ueda stopped along the way to open cabinets he saw until he found blankets, tossing one to Ryo before he wrapped one around himself. Reaching the commissary, they saw that Nakamaru already had a kettle on for tea. The Outcast gestured to a round table, saying, “Grab a seat. I’ll get cups. Ueda, I know you don’t, but would...the Officer want sugar?”
Distrust practically radiated off the Outcast, but Ryo didn’t really care. He couldn’t say he exactly trusted Nakamaru either after what just happened in the passageway… Plus, something irked Ryo by how readily the Outcast knew how Ueda liked his tea. Just who was this guy to him?
“No thanks,” Ryo muttered.
Nakamaru shrugged and sat three cups down on the table before serving them and fixing his tea for himself. Ryo watched as Ueda cupped his hands over his tea to gather the warmth from the rising steam. The blond man’s fingers were sort of long, Ryo thought, but then looked up as Nakamaru cleared his throat. The Outcast was also looking at Ueda, though for a different reason. He wanted answers.
Ueda took a sip before starting, “You’ve heard about the raids today?”
Nakamaru nodded briskly, “Before the storm, it flooded the airwaves… But the frequencies keep getting lost. What happened to Junno that’s making him do this?”
“He was taken,” Ueda responded, his voice sounding pained. It sounded as if there wasn’t quite enough air to finish the words.
“He was taken back to the Compound. By Officers,” Nakamaru clarified, harshly, then jerked his head toward Ryo, “So why are you travelling with one?”
Ryo shifted in his seat, about to defend himself, when Ueda stated, “He gave me his word. He’ll help me rescue Junno. He’s been stationed at the Compound. He knows the codes and he’ll be able to find where they’re holding Junno quickly.”
“I know he worked at the Compound, Ue,” Nakamaru returned, sharply, “That’s how I recognized him. What I don’t know is why you’re trusting him. You could find Junno easily enough by listening.”
“But I wouldn’t know the codes,” Ueda shot back, “And I’ve met Ryo a bunch of times at all those society affairs I had to go to.”
“So you met an Officer at a few house parties and brunches, and now you trust him? Do you trust everyone from the parties now? Ueda, what’s going on in your head?”
“Of course I don’t,” Ueda snapped, “Ryo’s my friend.”
Ryo took that moment to choke on his tea, inhaling the hot liquid instead of swallowing it like he meant to. He was Ueda’s friend? Once he stopped coughing, he looked up to see Nakamaru studying him and a faint red color spreading across Ueda’s cheeks.
“Friends. Totally. Ueda’s great,” Ryo agreed, nodding. He looked to Ueda for approval, but the blond’s flush only seemed to darken.
“And yeah…” Ryo continued, switching his gaze to Nakamaru, “I want to help rescue Taguchi from the Compound. Even if Ueda and I weren’t, you know, friends. I’ve met the guy, and you said it yourself, I work at the Compound. I get stationed there pretty often. I know what goes on, and I…”
Ryo shot another quick glance at Ueda and saw the blond’s dark eyes were fixed on him.
“I know it’s wrong,” Ryo felt a sudden urgency hit him, maybe it was the surrounding emotions, including his fear of Nakamaru, or maybe it was the blizzard, but Ryo couldn’t stop talking, “I know our government leaders are more than just a little corrupt, and there has to be some sort of. . . scheme going on here to use the Outcasts. Because I remember the explosions. The so-called ‘after-effects.’ I was just out of Academy then, but even I knew it was a set up-- then a cover up. A lot of Officers do. But anyone who ever said anything disappeared. They weren’t just fired-- they were gone. So guys learned to keep their mouths shut. And all the new Officers, they believe the propaganda. They’re terrified of being contaminated, and some just plain enjoy torturing the contaminated. But that’s bullshit, right? The way they gathered people up after the Power Tower blew, then the tests they used to determine who was contaminated and who wasn’t. It was all bullshit. There was a quota. I saw the documents, before the Highers marked them classified on the intranet. How could they have had a quota when they weren’t supposed to have had any idea how many people were affected?! They couldn’t, right? Those tests weren’t tests. They were something else. Something that made you different, but what?!”
Ryo realized he was almost yelling, so he stopped. He didn’t really have much more to say anyway, and he wasn’t even sure if Nakamaru or Ueda understood him. The two were giving him the blankest stares he’d ever seen.
“I’m going to figure out what they did to you,” Ryo finally whispered.
“And then what?” Nakamaru returned, in his own whisper. Ueda still made no sound.
“I will bring you justice,” Ryo’s response was quick and certain.
Nakamaru snorted, but his expression regarding Ryo had softened.
“Junno needs justice first,” Ueda’s soft voice chimed in, cheeks still pink.
“Yeah, ok,” Ryo allowed, feeling rather lighter and more confident after his little outburst, and sipped his tea, “We’ll save that tall goofball first. But he’ll have to stop stealing my dance partners at the house parties.”
“He can’t help that,” Ueda returned, and his voice sounded much less anxious to Ryo, which pleased him.
“I can dance!” Ryo asserted.
“Sure you can,” Ueda responded, “But no one dances like our Junno. Right Yuuchi?”
Maru opened his mouth to answer, but Ryo blurted, “Yuuchi?”
“Nakamaru Yuichi,” Nakamaru sighed, although a small smile formed on his lips, “But they seem to like to call me Yuuchi.”
Ryo’s eyes shot to Ueda. The building?
“Yuuchi was thrown, yes… and I burned down the East Wing Tower. And I’m not sorry,” Ueda said, sharply. He’d immediately known what Ryo’s look meant.
“Oh that,” Nakamaru grimaced, “I hate fucking heights. I hate them. AND THEY DROPPED ME OFF THE TOWER. It took every ounce of my power to freeze me mid-air. Do you realize how much restraint it takes me to freeze myself?! A LOT, Nishikido. It takes a lot!”
Ueda seemed to visibly sag as Maru described his struggles, and Ryo didn’t like that at all.
“I’d wondered what happened to that Tower. It wasn’t logged, so I knew better than to ask, but I really never thought…” Ryo grumbled.
“Yeah,” Ueda shrugged, a tiny and sad smile playing on his lips, “I take arson to the next level.”
“Only when provoked, Ue,” Nakamaru added, setting his cup down hard enough to slosh, “It’s not your fault. You’ve kept the fires banked under the most terrible conditions. It took almost killing me to make you lose control.”
“I guess,” Ueda muttered.
“Unlike Koki,” Maru smiled a little at Ueda, “Remember? I think we’ve seen his elemental power more often than anyone’s.”
“Speaking of which, where is Koki?” Ueda asked, “If he’s here, I want to see him before we head back out.”
Nakamaru was quiet for a moment before sighing into his cup.
“I don’t know where Koki is,” Nakamaru said quietly, “He went out early one morning in autumn, and he never came back.”
“What?” Ueda looked concerned.
“I tried to find him,” Nakamaru explained, sounding more hollow, “It’s why I haven’t joined you guys in City; why we never closed this bunker and moved in with you and Junno like we’d planned. Koki… Koki’s gone.”
“I’ll listen for him,” Ueda licked his lips and stood, “We’re going now then. We need thermals. Coats. Pants. Boots. The works.”
“I’m coming with you,” Nakamaru stated, and Ueda nodded as if he’d already figured.
Nakamaru led the way to trunks and a bay of metal lockers. As he pulled out various heavy, militaristic coats and other protective winter-wear, he asked other questions. Ryo stayed mostly quiet, but Ueda answered the Outcast without pause. It was such a contrast to the shy guy Ryo had met at so many parties, often alone off to the side or quietly watching Junno’s antics. It was growing increasingly obvious to Ryo that this Outcast was someone Ueda had been very close to. And apparently, once upon a time, Ueda had burned down a Tower at the Compound over this guy, so Ueda’s attachment to him must have been pretty strong. The thought made something inside Ryo feel pretty shitty. He didn’t like it, but however close Ueda and Nakamaru had been, it hadn’t kept Ueda from scaling the Wall and leaving Maru for City. And Nakamaru hadn’t joined Ueda, despite Koki being “gone” for seasons. The way the two fell back so easily together in conversation, though… Ryo shook his head. Whatever.
“Ryo?”
Ryo jumped. He hadn’t been speaking out loud, had he? Cheeks warm, Ryo forced himself to look at Ueda.
“Yeah?” Ryo said, wishing he sounded a little more casual.
“Your boots look like they don’t fit,” Ueda said, raising an eyebrow at Ryo’s weird tone, “Try these.”
The blond held out a different pair of boots, and Ryo nodded as he took them. Inside his head, he was telling himself to cool it. He needed to calm down and clear his head if he was going to get them all out of the Compound alive. He really couldn’t understand what was wrong with him, but Ryo was sure he didn’t need it.
Ryo was also sure he didn’t want to be back out in the snowstorm (even if the appropriate outerwear did make the experience far less shit-tastic than it had been) but Ryo did know he needed to be out in the storm. He needed to be out there because he was finally going to do something. This was his catalyst. There would be no going back, even if he somehow escaped unscathed and was still able to re-enter the Compound under the guise of his profession as an Officer-- he would be forever changed. He would finally be an active fighter for actual justice. It wouldn’t be just intelligence gathering. If he was lucky, Ryo was hoping he could save some lives. Hours seemed to past, and the weather took it’s toll on all three of them. Ryo had fell silent early on, just listening to Ueda and Maru catch up as his thoughts of what he was about to do began to really set in.
“You ok, Ryo?” Ueda asked, his soft voice cutting through the wind whipping around them. The blond moved to walk closer to him.
“Sure,” Ryo responded, then added, “You?”
“Ask me again after we get Junno.”
“You’re really close to him, huh?” Ryo asked, his feet crunching in the icy snow that lay beneath the powdery stuff that had just fallen-- and kept on falling.
“Yeah,” Ueda answered, “Junno’s my best friend.”
Best friend. Ryo nodded his head to Ueda, having nothing to say in response. Ryo was just a friend.
“Aren’t either of you going to ask me?” Maru’s voice rose up from behind them, “Ueda? Aren’t I your best friend too?”
“Yeah. You’re my best friend too,” Ueda grinned, “Yuuchi, how are you?”
“Cold!” Nakamaru replied, “How much farther do you think it is? Usually I could tell you, but I can’t see ten feet ahead of me through all this snow.”
“I’ll listen,” Ueda responded, stopping mid-stride. Ryo and Maru paused too, chests rising as they huffed from the journey. All eyes were on Ueda as he closed his eyes and focused.
His eyes weren’t closed a second before they popped back open, wide and alarmed.
“Go!” Ueda shouted, pulling at their sleeves as he attempted to break into a run. “Go! Go! Go!”
“What is it?!” Ryo asked, bewildered.
“They’re coming! Officers! HUVs! Fast! They’ll be here soon! We have to get off the path!”
They were on that narrow road the Officers used to get to the Compound!? Ryo gaped. He’d had no idea. The snow was falling so heavily, he hadn’t recognized his surroundings at all.
“We have to hide!” Ueda’s voice grew more panicked, “They’re so close! I can make out what they’re saying now-- they have Trackers!”
“Oh holy shit,” Nakamaru swore, then gulped. The falling snow covered their footprints, but if Trackers got close enough to catch their scent, they’d be dead.
Nakamaru felt bile rise in his throat as the sound of approaching vehicles reached his ears. The Officers were close enough that he could hear them too. The three dove behind a risen snow drift, and Ryo immediately began digging.
“Gotta get under the snow. The Trackers might not detect us if we’re covered,” Ryo commanded, mind scrambling for a means to survive, and the other two began scooping back as much snow as they could.
The sound of engines grew louder and Ryo gritted his teeth. They weren’t going to be able to dig far enough down to hide themselves. There wasn’t enough ti-- Ryo’s hand hit something solid beneath the snow.
“Look!” Nakamaru blurted, as they began to uncover a fallen tree.
“Get behind it, wedge yourself down as deep as you can get beneath it,” Ryo urged, acting like he knew what he was talking about when he really had no idea, “I’ll cover you, then I’ll cover myself.”
Ueda and Nakamaru hurried to do exactly as he said, violently burrowing into the snow and wedging themselves in. All that was visible after Ryo buried them was their heads. Then Ryo threw off his coat, laid it flat on the log they were hiding behind and covered it with as thick a layer of snow as he could before he feared being seen. The engines sounded horrifyingly close.
Ryo didn’t have much time, so he buried himself down next Ueda as far as he could, making it a tight squeeze for Ueda, who was stuck between a ghost-pale Nakamaru and shivering Ryo. Then Ryo used his one free arm to grip the edge of his coat and pull it down over their heads. He wasn’t sure, but he sure as hell hoped his coat would successfully hide them. Besides a heightened sense of smell, Trackers’ implants sensed body heat. If they were well hidden and had enough snow and solid material between themselves and the Trackers, they should be able to make it.
It was dark beneath the snow and Ryo’s coat, and even as the sound of engines grew louder, it was somewhat muffled by their covering. His concentration on the sound was broken by a puff of warm air he felt against his cheek, knowing it was Ueda’s breath. Then, as the engines became a roar outside their hiding place, Ryo didn’t miss when the puffs of air stopped. Ueda was holding his breath, but in that instant, so was Ryo.
The HUV’s were slowing down, they all could hear the change in speed. But the Officers weren’t stopping-- not yet. But Ryo felt his stomach drop as he heard the desperate whining of the Trackers. They were mewling and crying in long, intelligible whines to be let off their leashes. They sensed something.
The sound of the engines diminished to the faintest of hums. The HUVs had stopped. This was it. The Trackers would lead the Officers right to them. There was no way they could escape. Ryo didn’t know how many Officers there were, but if there were more than two or three, they were dead.
Hell, if the Trackers were loose on them, they’d probably be dead.
That was when the Officers started talking. Ryo prickled at how close they sounded. First, he heard an Officer grumble about the Trackers, then someone shouted from a ways off.
“What are we slowing down for this time?!”
“Goddamn Trackers think they found something, again.”
There was a crunching of snow, and then the voice that had shouted was much closer, “Shit, really? You think they actually got something this time?”
“I don’t know,” another voice answered, “It’s probably just another rabbit.”
“They’re really getting frenzied, though,” commented a third voice, “Bet it’s a boar.”
“They really love their meat,” the voice who had shouted then commented, “But I thought they were used to track Outcasts. Not just any animal.”
“An Outcast is just an animal,” an Officer scoffed, “Without a specific scent to go off of, our Trackers will hunt down any vermin they find.”
Ryo felt Ueda tense beside him.
The whining of the Trackers grew louder, and it lead to a few cries and growls, followed by shrieks and the obvious sounds of a scuffle. Officers started shouting, and Ryo jerked at the sound of Ueda’s sudden whisper beside his ear.
“Three Tracker heartbeats. Five heartbeats of the voices; Officers. One slower heartbeat.”
Ueda repeated, “One slower heartbeat,” before an Officer’s voice cut sharply.
“Those crazy fuckers are going to rip themselves apart over another goddamn hare, I’m telling you,” the Officer sounded beyond annoyed, “Let’s just throw them the Outcast. The filthy thing is drugged so heavily, I’m sure his meat will calm the Trackers down.”
“But we’re supposed to bring all Outcasts into the Compound.”
“They already got that one they wanted. This one isn’t anyone important--”
“Are you sure?” voiced the third Officer, “We haven’t checked the intra--”
“Look at what that other one has done! All this freaking snow. This Outcast here hasn’t done shit, and accidents do happen.”
Ueda and Nakamaru both hissed in gasps. Ryo squeezed his eyes shut. They couldn’t actually be considering throwing an Outcast they caught to the Trackers?! That wasn’t allowed! The Trackers were never supposed to actually feed off their catch. Just the thought made Ryo more nauseous than he already was.
But then it got worse.
“The… slower… heartbeat…” Ueda murmured, words tipped with dread, “The Outcast heartbeat…”
Ryo was situated so he could feel Ueda’s right side, all bony edges, biting into him. He felt Ueda’s hand clench into a fist.
“I know that heartbeat,” Ueda whispered, shaking with something other than the cold, “It’s Kame.”
Nakamaru gritted a tortured sound, through what sounded like clenched teeth.
“How could you possibly know that? It could be anyone!” Ryo hissed immediately. He didn’t want to believe this was an Outcast he knew, and he definitely didn’t want to see what would happen if Ueda and Nakamaru decided to do something stupid. They might survive this if they just stayed quiet!
“It’s him,” Ueda was barely whispering now, “We have to do something!”
“Don’t be an idiot, Ueda!” Ryo snapped, “You’ll get all of us killed!”
“It’s Kamenashi!” Ueda snapped right back.
Nakamaru blurted, “He’s our friend. He risked so much for our escape. We have to--”
Nakamaru’s rush of words was cut off by an Officer’s voice. “Shake him up a bit. Wake the lousy bastard. The Trackers will go wild if he’s conscious.”
“What?” a different Officer asked, his voice exposing his disbelief.
“It’ll be more fun, trust me,” the first Officer spoke again, and then there was the sound of rustling, followed by a soft sigh which turned into a groan.
Oh shit. Ryo wanted to groan too. Even he recognized that voice. He didn’t bother saying anything, though. He just took a deep breath, tensed his muscles. . . heard Nakmaru’s telltale click...
And freed himself from the snow just as he felt Ueda and Nakamaru burst from within it, leaping up behind the fallen tree. Officer shouted, Trackers screamed, bullets rang out, and Ryo snapped his head for a second to see Trackers drop and fall into the snow. Their humanoid bodies always freaked Ryo out. They were some sort of science project the government claimed was caused by severe contamination, but Ryo didn’t think so.
The Officers drew their weapons and started firing. Ryo and Ueda both dropped, ran, and flattened themselves behind trees as shields. Ryo counted five Officers, just as Ueda had said, from the corner of his eye. Nakamaru just barely dodged a bullet, then charged forward in a manner Ryo couldn’t believe. But then he saw the way three of the Officers tensed. They were paralyzed.
Two Officers escaped Nakamaru’s power, but Ueda and Ryo were on them. Ryo narrowly missed a shot from the pale ginger he was facing before he knocked the sucker on his ass and disarmed him with a swift kick to the knuckles that sent the handgun flying. Ryo didn’t recognize this Officer, although he did recognize the one Ueda was busy bloodying to a pulp with his fists. Holy shit.
That Officer was a real, genuine asshole. Ryo knew it. The guy was one of those who took pleasure in torturing the Outcasts. He was probably the Officer who suggested giving Kame to the manic Trackers. Ryo couldn’t watch Ueda take vengeance, though. He was preoccupied with the knife his red-haired Officer pulled on him. After a slight struggle that resulted with Ryo getting a slight graze on his face, just below his left eye, which the Officer had been aiming for, Ryo knelt on the Officer’s arm and bent it in a way that the Officer was forced to drop the weapon. Ryo took it, and bashed the Officer in the head with the blunt handle.
As the Officer fell limp, Ryo turned to see Ueda landing the final blows on his Officer. That jerk had apparently landed a few of his own, but he was no match for Ueda. Ueda, Ryo could see, was out for blood.
Turning around, Ryo saw Nakamaru had tied two of his Officer’s hands and feet, but was trembling as he went to tie the third. “Can’t focus. Need assistance.” Nakamaru punctuated each word, as if it took a great deal of focus to speak.
“Got it!” Ryo shouted, but the third Officer slipped free and shot at Nakamaru. The Outcast’s hold on the other two dropped as he lunged away from the shots. Ryo had to duck behind a HUV when the Officer shot at him, and he saw Ueda spin-kick his Officer in the head. The man dropped, and when Ueda turned around, Ryo noticed a difference. Ueda’s skin has changed. Suddenly, he glimmered like wavy air above an open flame. He practically sparkled-- and then he did spark as another shot rang out. Nakamaru has shot the Officer. The bullet struck him near the shoulder, in the upper chest, and the force knocked the Officer stumbling back into a HUV. Nakamaru charged right after him and ripped the gun from the wheezing Officer’s hand, tossing it to Ueda.
The two turned to where Kamenashi laid, very still, in the snow. Ryo immediately recognized the Outcast from parties, as well as sporting events. This one had always managed to receive invites to the best boxes. . . Now he didn’t look quite so suave or charming. He looked awfully broken, and Ryo grimaced at the bruises and grimy cuts that left marks in Junno’s snow. Kame needed some help.
As Nakamaru and Ueda gathered up Kame, he made a slight sound. His hands, legs, and feet were bound and then tied together. Ryo looked away when the Outcast’s eyes fluttered, embarrassed to be affliated with the organization who had done this, just in time to see the Officer that Nakamaru had shot and disarmed reach into a side-container on the HUV and pull out another handgun. Ueda was closest to him, and so it was at Ueda the Officer took aim.
Ryo didn’t have time to shout. He dove towards Ueda just as Ueda turned around at the sound of the safety’s click. Ryo heard the shot. Felt the fiery burn as it tore through his leg, and then he was on the ground. Looking up at Ueda. There was another shot, but Nakamaru froze the bullet mid-air. Then let it drop. Ueda’s skin rippled. It shimmered like cut glass and reflected in the snow. Ryo couldn’t look away. For some reason, Nakamaru didn’t paralyze the Officer. He just fixed the most terrible scowl on his face, froze another bullet mid-air, and let it drop. At the third shot, Ryo tried to move to stand, but the pain that hit him was incredible. He bit back a yelp, and the trembling Officer took aim at him again.
But then Ueda burst into flames.
Ryo was losing blood too fast, he realized. His head was pounding, and it was becoming more and more difficult to lift himself up from the snow, after he’d crumpled back down. But he could still see the fire erupt around Ueda; from within Ueda. The fire that was Ueda. The shot Officer rolled in the snow, dousing his flames, before scrambling onto a HUV. The bound Officers screamed as the flames reached them. Ryo clenched his eyes shut, not wanting to watch these men burn, but then it was as if a wind pulled the flames back, into Ueda. Ryo looked to see what had made him harness the fire, and was shocked when he saw Kamenashi walking, very slowly, towards the bound Officers. Each step Kamenashi took melted beneath his feet. The footprints he left in the ground were black, and smoldering.
Ryo knew what Kamenashi Kazuya’s elemental was, even if the Officers hadn’t. The Officers had thought Kame was nothing special, but they were wrong. On one, very valuable hand, Kame was the Seer. His “after effects” granted him the ability to see what others saw, what others had seen, as well as great distances if he focused. His sight was beyond exceptional. That was a terrible curse in itself, but Kame had something more. The “special” Outcasts always came with two powers. Kame’s elemental power was a compound of volatile solvents, changing and rearranging on whim.
In short, Kamenashi could turn very, very acidic.
Ryo couldn’t turn away as Kame crouched over the trembling, bound Officers. They were already scorched, but not so badly that they wouldn’t heal. That would definitely change if Kamenashi laid a hand on them. Ryo had seen footage of Kamenashi using his acid to crumble a wall as he leapt through it. Kame had just struck out a fist and jumped, and the solid concrete wall crumbled around him. These Officers were going to melt like candles…
But Kame didn’t touch them. He said something, in a soft voice that Ryo couldn’t understand but it sent chills down his spine. Then, Kame simply laid a single fingertip on the knot at each Officers’ ankles, and it fizzled as it fell apart.
Ryo’s mouth dropped. If he’d had the energy, he would have jumped at the sound of Ueda kneeling beside him. The Officers scrambled onto HUVs. One swung his leg over the HUV the shot Officer was already on, screaming to start the ignition. The other got onto his own, and struggled to gun it while driving with bound hands. The two Officers left unconscious in the snow were forgotten by their comrades as they raced off, away from the terrifying Outcasts, one of which happened to be no Outcast but just a man. An Officer, even.
“We don’t kill if we don’t have to,” whispered Ueda, smoke still curling softly around his blond hair, as if embers still smouldered beneath his smooth skin. There was only a ghost of a shimmer left.
“I like that,” Ryo muttered, then closed his eyes.