"NO ONE... I'M HERE ALONE..." Eli yells out.
Draken grabs Eli's shoulder as Eli tries to approach Mikey. Mikey keeps walking toward the trees, ignoring what Eli is saying.
Ren looks over at you. He looks nervous. Slowly, he stands up and walks out from behind the tree.
Mikey stops walking and stares at Ren. Eli's eyes widen.
You stay quiet as you lean against the tree, listening in on them. Aimi is holding Hana, covering Hana's mouth.
"I'm here too..." Ren says shakily.
Mikey raises an eyebrow when Ren speaks.
"Is there anyone else hiding behind the trees?" Mikey asks, slowly moving toward the trees again as he walks past Ren.
You, Aimi, and Hana slide to the right, still trying to stay hidden from Mikey's view.
"No..." Ren says calmly. "It's only me and Eli... We chose to stay here after our friends left."
Mikey stops walking and flips open the phone to look at the picture again.
"So... is this your friend's phone?" Mikey asks.
"No... that's Eli's phone." Ren answers, pointing toward Eli.
Mikey looks up at Eli and nods.
"You really like the color pink... huh?" Mikey scoffs, waving the pink phone.
Mikey walks over toward the stairs and sits down. Pah-chin grabs Eli, forcing him to kneel on the ground. Peh-yan tries to do the same to Ren, but Ren kneels before Peh-yan can approach him.
"So..." Mikey smiles, looking at the phone and pressing a few buttons. The light from the screen shines across his face. "Why were you both hiding behind the trees?" he asks, slowly looking up from the phone at Ren and Eli.
"I-... uh..." Eli's eyes are wide as he looks down at the ground.
"Were you trying to spy on us?" Mikey asks in a low tone.
His eyes are still and blank. Looking into them sends chills down Ren and Eli's backs.
"N-no... t-that's not it." Eli stutters.
"Then what were you doing?" Mikey asks, suspicious of Eli's body language.
"We were just looking around..." Eli answers.
He's shaking.
You close your eyes, scared of what will happen to Eli. Eli is making it too obvious. Mikey knows he's lying.
"They are focused on them... if we crawl toward the back of the shrine... we can jump the wall and escape..." Aimi whispers into your ear.
The idea sounds good. Before anything happens, you have no choice but to leave. But not right now. They would notice.
"Wait... Give it a second before we escape..." you whisper back.
Aimi nods, and Hana stays quiet, her eyes shut and her hands covering her mouth.
"Looking around? Why?" Mikey asks.
He's leaned forward, with his arms resting on his knees. His face has a blank expression as he stares directly at Eli.
Eli starts to clench his pants.
"We were just curious. That's all..." Eli answers.
Ren closes his eyes and furrows his eyebrows.
"Eli is making it worse... he needs to shut up..." Aimi whispers.
"Curious?" Mikey questions, his voice still low. "I don't believe you."
Baji grabs Eli by the hair and leans closer to him.
"Who are you a spy for?" Baji asks, revealing his two dull fangs as he smiles.
Eli's eyes widen, and he looks away to avoid eye contact.
Mikey stands up and slowly walks down the stairs towards Eli.
"Is it for... the Black Dragons? Moebius? Ragnarok? Who?" Mikey asks, getting closer to Eli.
Eli shakes his head.
"Fine then... I'll beat the answer out of you." Mikey calmly says in a low, stern tone.
Mikey kicks Eli in the stomach, causing him to fall over in pain.
Aimi, Hana, and you stare from behind the tree. Hana and Aimi's eyes are wide. They look terrified.
"They are all focused on Eli... we should go now..." you whisper to them.
Aimi nods, and you crawl toward the back of the shrine. Aimi and Hana follow behind.
Ren notices and looks toward Eli.
Mikey grabs Eli by the hair and leans close to his face.
"Why are you here...?" Mikey asks again in a dull but stern tone.
Eli sniffles as blood starts dripping from his nose. Tears begin to form in his eyes.
"we were just looking around... we aren't spying... i promise..." Eli sniffles, tears falling from his eyes.
You, Aimi, and Hana make it to the back of the shrine.
You and Aimi help Hana climb over the wall.
Mikey punches Eli and then slams his face into the concrete ground.
After Hana gets over the wall, you help Aimi climb over. Eli is coughing, trying to crawl away.
Baji kicks Eli back toward Mikey.
"Where do you think you're going?" Baji chuckles as he walks toward Eli.
Ren's eyes narrow as he looks at Eli.
Mikey walks closer to Eli and crouches down, looking at him as he lies on the ground.
"Why are you here?" Mikey asks.
"toth... look around..." Eli whines as he tries to get up.
Mikey stands back up, preparing to stomp on Eli's head.
Ren takes a loud, deep breath, causing everyone to look at him.
You watch from behind the shrine.
"Yuki... what are you doing... come on..." Aimi whispers from the other side of the wall.
"He's right... We were here out of curiosity. We aren't spies... We're just normal high school nerds..." Ren states.
"I have never been involved in a gang before. All I do is paint... And Eli... he's too much of an idiot to be part of a gang." Ren adds.
Mikey looks at Ren, expressionless.
Mikey walks towards him.
"Curious about what?" Mikey asks.
"About Toman." Ren answers.
Mikey furrows his eyebrows.
"I have always been curious about Toman. I hear a lot about Toman... about the Invincible Mikey and his acting leader, Draken. I always wanted to be a part of Toman... but I don't seem like gang material, so I never tried to join." Ren says in a very convincing tone.
Mikey stands still, staring at Ren. His eyebrows are still narrowed.
"I brought my friends here because of my curiosity... The girls have already left." Ren says, staring toward the trees where you all had been hiding.
Mikey looks in the direction Ren is staring.
Draken walks toward the trees.
You turn toward the wall and jump over it.
Draken looks behind the trees and then walks back over to Ren.
Mikey looks back at Ren.
"Me and Eli stayed... but... we didn't know you would come, so we hid because we got startled." Ren says.
Mikey stands still and quiet. His face expressionless again as he stares down at Ren.
"You want to join Toman?" Mikey asks.
Ren nods.
Mikey smiles and crouches down toward Ren.
"How do you view delinquents?" Mikey asks.
Ren looks up at Mikey when he asks that question.
You, Aimi, and Hana make it down the hill and out from the trees onto a sidewalk.
"THAT IDIOT!" Hana yells. "WE WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE IF HE DIDN'T WALK OUT!"
She cries out in frustration.
"It happened... let's not focus on it..." Aimi comments.
"Yeah... but I'm worried." Hana sighs. She has a hint of sadness on her face.
Aimi nods.
"Worried about Eli? I am worried too... He was bleeding so-"
"POOR REN! HE HAD TO JUMP IN AND SAVE ELI'S DUMBASS... I hope Ren is okay." Hana Interrupts Aimi.
Aimi raises an eyebrow.
"Ren seemed like he was prepared for the worst..." you say, looking down at your feet.
"Why do you say that?" Aimi asks.
"After you two jumped the fence... I heard Ren tell Mikey that he wanted to join Toman... and I think they are buying it..." you say.
"Yeah... but I'm worried... That's not something Ren is into. Ren is smart, so I assume he said that to protect Eli... but... knowing Ren, I'm still worried."
Aimi looks down at her feet and slowly starts to take off her gloves.
Hana looks at Aimi.
"Ren is strong... I believe he'll be okay. Besides... If anything were to happen... V, Dango, and Ai can protect him." you say with a semi-smile on your face.
Aimi smiles and nods, and so does Hana.
"Yeah, you're right..." Aimi nods.
The three of you stand still in silence.
Then Hana sighs loudly.
"AUGH... ALL THIS STRESS IS MAKING ME HUNGRY... I WANT SOME UDON. UDON WITH EXTRA MEAT AND EGGS!!!" Hana groans loudly.
Aimi chuckles.
"When do you not think about food...?" Aimi asks with a smile.
Hana smiles back.
Their smiling makes you smile.
"Then let's get Udon..." you suggest.
A few hours later, the three of you are in your room eating ramen.
"It sucks that the restaurant that we always go to shut down... I loved their Udon." Hana groans as she slurps down the ramen.
"Yeah... I remember we went all the time when we were in elementary." Aimi adds.
"I wonder where Ren is..." Hana comments.
You wonder the same.
You wonder where they both were. The thought of something happening to them worries you.
"And my phone..." Hana pouts.
Aimi pats Hana's head, and Hana leans her head against Aimi's shoulder.
After eating and talking for a while, the three of you fall asleep in your bed.
BZZZZZ! BZZZZZ! BZZZZZ!
The sound of a phone vibrating wakes you and Aimi up.
Aimi grabs her phone to see who's calling her. She flips her phone open and answers the call.
"Hello? Huh...?!"
Aimi jumps up from the bed and walks towards the front door.
"Who is it..." you ask.
"Ren..." Aimi answers as she opens the door.
When she opens it, you see a wet and beaten-up Eli and a soaking-wet Ren standing outside the stairs.
You and Aimi move to the side to let them in.
Ren takes off his shoes and walks toward the kitchen. He stands there for a moment before beginning to undress himself.
"Wait... what are you doing?" Aimi asks.
"Just taking off the heavy clothes I'm wearing..." he answers, pulling off his hoodie.
He rubs his hair.
His hair reminds you of a jellyfish. The top part is cut short, while the back and sides are long. The red highlights make his hair look even more jellyfish-like.
Your eyes drift down to his torso. He's pretty toned for someone who only paints.
He's a bit taller than Eli, but from what you saw earlier he's shorter than Draken.
Closer to Baji's height actually.
"Where's Hana?" Ren asks.
"She's sleeping..." Aimi answers.
Ren looks tired.
"You should get some sleep... Ren..."
Ren nods to Aimi's suggestion.
"Eli... your face needs medicine..." Aimi says, grabbing her bag.
Eli stands by the door with an unreadable expression on his face.
He stands stiffly while staring at the ground.
"What happened?" you ask.
"..." Ren sighs and looks down at the small puddle of water under his feet.
"We are members of Toman now..."
"WHAT?"