Chapter Text
It’s been only a handful of hours since the nightmare ended.
A handful of hours since the candidates escaped, and now Reko Yabusame trudged down a sidewalk with three children in tow, all tired and scared, with experiences that would follow each of them to their graves.
Reko walked ahead, leading the little group onwards. Sara walked behind her, Clutching Gin and Kanna’s hands in her own. None of them knew what to do, still shaken from recent events.
Eventually, their walk led the four of them to a bus stop, where they all piled onto a bench to rest. A gentle shower of rain fell from the cloudy sky, and Reko was glad for the roof over his and the kids’ heads. Wouldn’t wanna be catching a cold on top of everything…
For what seemed like eternity, nobody spoke. What was there to say? They were the only four out of twenty people to get out of a horrific game that toyed with their very lives, and though they were free, their lives before seemed so far away now. Reko herself was trying to keep it together for the younger three. That game… ASU-naro had forcefully given her his brother back, only to tear him away before she could get over herself and try to reconcile. She had… told him to pretend they didn’t know each other, and then he defended her, only to die three days later, and he never thanked him, did she… Reko sighed, trying to clear his mind, watching raindrops race down the glass wall of the bus stop. It was over now, and she shouldn’t start crying again. The rain had already caused his dark makeup to run.
Eventually, it was Gin who broke the silence.
“Mroww… I wonder if mom’s off from work by now.”
Reko glanced over at the small boy, who was curled up on the right side of Sara. and Kanna, who seemed to have drifted off. His mom… right. She should probably get everyone home. Their families would be worried, of course.
“You live around here, kiddo?” She asked.
“Mya, sort of! It’s kind of a long walk, woof, but that’s cause I’m always dragging my feet going to and from school, meow!”
In spite of the current situation, the rockstar chuckled.
“…alright, Gin. Wanna head home then?”
“Yeah! Mom’s gonna jump for joy when I’m back, meow!”
Reko rose to her feet, turning to face her three younger companions.
“Sounds good, kiddo. Sara, you feel like walkin’ now? I can get her cane, but you mind carrying Kanna?”
Sara simply nodded, standing up and scooping up the mint-haired girl with ease. She wore a tired expression, her usually determined violet eyes now dull, eyebags painfully visible. It hurt Reko, to see the kid like this. No doubt the highschooler must blame herself for the most recent death- that of the ex-detective, Shinogi, who even with his questionable sense of humor had helped the group along a fair bit. Reko felt indifferent towards him, but he knew Sara was pals with the guy. It was odd, Reko thought, that Sara hadn’t spoken since the group escaped… Ah well, there were bigger things to worry about right now. Namely, getting these kids home. Reko grabbed Kanna’s cane, and had Gin lead the little group back to the Ibushi household.
It would be a long walk for the weary group, but Reko had to make sure everyone got home safe. And if that meant trudging around in the rain for hours then that’s what she’d do.
. . .
Camilla Ibushi stood alone, leaning against the wall of her living room, cracking each of her knuckles one by one.
It was another day of useless searching. Posters she had put up just days ago were torn down, none of the usual places she’d gone with him had any clues. The police were useless. Even her own husband would rather go out drinking ‘till midnight than search for their missing son.
She took a deep, shaky breath. It was hard to be optimistic in times like this. Gin was never the kind of kid to run off…
If anything, she could only assume that her son had been kidnapped. A woman she knew from book club- Kinashi, was it?- had a missing child as well. And it wasn’t just children, in fact according to the news, twenty people of all ages went missing that night, without a trace. It seemed so random… why now? And why did it have to be her son?
She glanced out the window. Some part of her thought, if she waited here long enough, little Gin would come running up to the window, his laughter audible even from inside.
It was dark outside. The sun had set. She was hopeless.
When suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Camilla jumped, startled, dashing over to fling the door open, expecting that lousy husband of hers, when--
“MAMÁ!!”
Suddenly, Gin flung himself into her arms! Camilla spun him around in a hug, joyous laughter escaping her, before kneeling down to his level to look at him.
“GIN…!! ¡Mi hijo! Are you hurt!? Are you okay!? What happened!?”
Camilla was still unsure if this was real..! He was home, and he seemed unscathed! Sure, the boy looked a little tired, and a bit soggy, but he was laughing and grinning ear-to-ear!
Gin shook his head.
“I’m fine, meoww! Mew-chan’s a little waterlogged though, heeheehee!”
“We can put them in the dryer, but what on earth happened to you? You vanished into thin air!”
Gin looked to the side, his happy expression quickly transformed to something anxious.
“Mrrp… it’s… a long story, meow.”
She nodded. Yes… it must have been.
“But, I'm home safe, woof! All thanks to big sis Reko and big sis Sara, mwehehe!”
“Wuhh.. huhh?”
Camilla looked up. And yes, in fact, there were three other people there. What appeared to be a highschooler with a rumpled uniform carrying a younger girl with a very cool hat.
And then, standing right behind gin, was…
“SINGER SONGWRITER REKO YABUSAME!?”
She must be losing it for real. Perhaps she’d been listening to skullnutz before bed too much lately..
But no, it was real. This was happening. Camilla’s son was home safe, and Reko Yabusame was indeed at her doormat. The rockstar stood awkwardly, as if gauging what to respond with.
“Errhh… c’mon now, is it really th’ time for that?”
“...ah! Fair..” she nodded.
“But, Gin..! seriously, this is getting weirder and weirder..!!”
“..Like the kid said, it’s… a long story. Mind if we come in? Sara here could use a break..” Reko said, gesturing to the other two in the doorway.
“Waugh, of course..!! Let me get some water for you! Gin, show them to the good couch..!”
And Camilla was off, scurrying off to the kitchen.
Gin, of course, directed Sara to drop kanna onto the good couch, and the four of them quickly arranged themselves sitting on it. Kanna was propped up against Sara’s shoulder, Sara sat next to Reko, who was sitting next to Gin, the boy leaning against him, paws resting on her shoulder. Kanna woke up, surprised to be in a different location, but didn’t seem too bothered about it, since they were out of the rain.
Camilla returned to the room, balancing five glasses of water- two on each arm, one on her head- and quickly placed them on the table. She then flopped down on a cushion on the floor.
“I do expect to learn why my son disappeared for over a week, you know.”
Reko nodded.
“t’s only fair.”
He glanced around, at Kanna, Sara, and Gin. it would be only right that they got a say, but.. Reko certainly didn’t wanna relive that. Surely none of them did either..
But then, Sara spoke up.
“It was… a death game, of sorts. We were all gathered in a facility to fight for our lives.”
Sara spoke quietly, eyes fixed on the floor.
“...There were twenty of us.”
The air grew tense. Kanna looked away. Gin rested his chin on his paws. Reko held her gaze, and Sara didn’t say anything else.
Camilla looked reasonably confused. Seeing as none of those before her seemed to be joking, though, she nodded.
“And… you’re the only ones left?”
The silence was heavy. Sara hugged her arms close to herself, not saying a word, and so Reko responded.
“...that’s right. It’s… really thanks to everyone we lost, that we got out.”
It sounded responsible. Something Sara would have said, back on floor three.
Camilla looked down at her water glass. What a story… to think, these kids-her son- could have easily died in just the past few days…
“..Well, I really must thank you, miss Yabusame.”
“What for?”
“Looking after Gin. It sounds like a horrible situation… I’m very glad to have this woofymeow back in one piece.”
She smiled, trying to bring some light into the conversation, albeit unsuccessfully. Gin ‘mrrp’d. None of the others spoke. Though she was glad to have Gin back, this situation… nobody was clearing much up to her, though she supposed it was only fair. Having escaped just barely from some death trap, it was only fair they didn’t wanna talk about it… looking at these three, it was clear that everyone was exhausted.
“...well, at the very least, is there… Anything I can do for you three?”
The green-haired girl glanced over at her, eyes wide.
“Oh..! Kanna would like to know where we are, please! She should get home soon.”
Camilla’s eyes widened. Right… she wasn’t the only one who had her child go missing.
“Well… umm, this apartment complex is only a few blocks away from Gin’s school… it’s pretty close to that high school, the one with the orange uniforms..? Harukaze high, I think.”
Kanna nodded, holding the handle of her hat.
“..that’s not too far from kanna’s home... Thank you very much.”
At that, Reko looked over at the green-clad girl, sitting up.
“Oh, we should get on that, huh… Gin, you gonna be okay?”
“Of course, woof! You guys better escort Bucket Girl home, I'm a strong boy, meow!”
The rockstar chuckled, ruffling the kid’s hair before rising to his feet once more.
“Alright… if you two’re ready to go, we should make haste.”
The two girls nodded.
Of course, before going, everyone said their goodbyes- Sara especially found it difficult to part with little Gin, but he promised to keep in touch. Camilla made sure to exchange phone numbers with Reko “just in case you need anything..!!” and the now group of three set off into the night, headed for the Kizuchi home.