Ransom

By: Ryoko [Raiju]

It was cold here, wherever he was.

The room was white, unbearably bright too.

He groaned loudly as he tried to roll over, cringing from the sharp pains in his ribs and thighs. What the hell happened? he couldn't remember how he'd got there or what had happened beforehand to GET him there. But he was there, on the floor, just the same. Finally opening his eyes, he whimpered.

Hiro was in fairly worse shape, lying next to the boy, holding Shuichi in his arms tightly as if protecting him.

"Hiro?" he whispered, touching the older boy's face gently.

It seemed as though they'd gotten hurt, but...even if they were, wouldn't they be in a dark room? Already it was confusing, however, his questions could be ignored for now.

"Hiro? Hey, Hiro, c'mon, get up. C'mon. We gotta go. Hiro...?"

The brunette lay still, barely even breathing.

"Shuichi..." he whispered at last; his voice raspy and dry, as well as almost too soft to understand. "Shuichi...I can't..." he suppressed a cough, blood trickling down the side of his mouth to the pearl-white floor. "I...can't move. I can't feel my legs...or arms...I can't move..."

The younger boy's heart sank. What was going on here?!

He tried to move, managing to push himself into a sitting position, looking back down at Hiro.

What happened to us...? the older teenager's clothes were torn to shreds, his pants sliced up the front and side, cuts and slits dotting the rest of his body, mostly focused on his legs and arms, though. Oh god...what happened?! his eyes grew wide with fear, looking down at himself.

He wasn't any better looking, and on top of that, his shirt and belt were missing.

Stifling a scream of pain in his throat, Shuichi pushed himself up, falling into the wall to support his trembling frame. He wasn't going to make it far, and was well aware of it. With legs of jelly, he wobbled to the only door in the room, finding it locked.

"Not funny..." he whispered, finding his voice even harder to hear. His legs gave in, making him collapse to the floor and nearly pass out from the sudden pain jolting through his spine. "Hiro? Hiro, you still with me?"

No answer.

Terrific. I gotta get him outta here. We BOTH need to get out of here. If only I knew where we were...

The room was completely pearl white; the floor, walls and ceiling all the same blinding shade of white. No windows, and a single door, which was locked. There wasn't a way out.

He clenched his teeth and moved his arms up to the door, banging on it as hard as he could.

"Let us out! Somebody! Help! Let us out of here!" He yelled as loudly as he could, only to be silenced as the door flung open and sent him halfway across the room, landing near Nakano once again.

"Keep it DOWN!" the intruder was a big, yet scrawny, man, with short red- brown hair and cold piercing yellow eyes. He was dressed in a suit, much like a teacher, without the dress coat and tie, and appeared to be a businessman of some sort. Behind him stood a younger boy, no more than 15, with an iron collar around his neck. The man was holding the chain, leading from the collar, tightly. "I'm TRYING to conduct business, so keep it down, brat."

"Brat? Why you little...!" Shuichi tried to get up, only to have Hiro pull him back down hard. The brunette pinned him down to the floor, wincing as pressure was pushed against his wounded arm.

"Shu, stop. Be still." He whispered, finally gaining control of the musician. Shuichi silenced, glaring daggers at the man before him. The boy behind him seemed to be somewhat scared, and looked as though he was about to burst into tears.

"Insolent mongrel." The door was slammed and locked again, leaving the two boys alone once more.

"Why didn't you let me get him?"

"He's...not someone...you want...to mess with..."

"Why not? He didn't look so tough."

"Shuichi, be silent, please. There are...cameras all over this room. Just be quiet." The older teenager shivered with a chill of cold, as well as fear, gripping the pink-haired boy's abdomen. Shuichi winced against the pain, curling up and moving closer to Hiro for warmth, since he still had his shirt on.

"Please...Hiro...what happened? How did we get here?"

"Just relax. That doesn't matter. What matters is that we stay together and hope for the best." He whispered, kissing the boy's forehead slowly.

"Hiro..."

"Shh."

Game Over?

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