Savior Behind the Curtain

Ryuo and Jurie quickly ran out of the mall thanks to his quick plan to throw the others off their trail. They’d be safe outside, for now.

“That was close.” Said Ryuo, out of breath from their sprint. “I hate to say it, but maybe this should signal the end of our date?”

“What? No way.” He didn’t expect this to be her response after their secret had nearly been exposed. Of all things, this was the most important thing between them. “Come on, we gave them the slip. We should be good for now.”

“Come on, think about it.” He argued. “Surely it’s not just those two looking for us. There’s going to be more of them.”

“I should’ve expected you Montas to want to run at the first sight of danger.” She retorted, getting up closer to her face in a confrontational manner.

“And you Capas love to ignore the obvious warning signs of danger.” He fired back. It was unbelievable, but they were having an argument on their very first date. For a moment the pair stared at one another before sighing.

“Sorry.” They both apologized in unison.

“Even though you’re my girlfriend. I can’t help but see you like one of the enemy.”

“I should be offended by that, but honestly same here.” She replied as they fell into an awkward silence. It took a few seconds before she continued speaking. “It’s just the situation, right? It’s stressful thinking that everything between us might be taken away with one wrong move.”

“You can say that again.” He looked around, now paranoid of one of their friends showing up out of nowhere to catch them. “Against my better judgment, we can continue our little date. But I’m warning you that I doubt we’ll be able to enjoy ourselves now that we’re being hunted.”

“Sheesh, don’t make it sound like this is life-or-death.” She gave him a small punch on the arm in acceptance. The pair walked away from the mall to try and find somewhere else that could provide them with fun for a couple.

They walked at a distance from each other. Not far, but certainly not close as one would expect a couple to be. However recent events made them much more cautious on their actions.

Ryuo looked towards her without turning his head. Sumiwa’s words from before echoed in his head about knowing Jurie well. Even though she was his girlfriend, did he truly know her that well too? Not to mention, how well did she know him? She only just learned of his favorite food and it wasn’t the type of response that one could describe as accepting.

Admittedly he didn’t help his case either. Ryuo was the type of person to keep his heart close to his chest. No one needs to know if he’s feeling great or bad. They just need him to be able to do what’s expected from him. Perhaps she didn’t like it when he didn’t match her expectations for lunch?

“Hey, Jurie.” The words ate at him, so he spoke up for the first time on their walk to try and ask, but suddenly she covered his mouth and pulled him aside into the alley. “Hey, what are you-”

“Quiet.” She whispered to him as she peered around the corner. “I see Niiya. She’s probably looking for us.”

“I told you we were being searched for.” He responded, but quickly shut up when they saw her shadow. They hid away by the dumpster and hoped she wouldn’t find them.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” The hairs on the back of their necks stuck out when they heard her yell, however it was soon followed by another familiar voice.

“Of course you’re out here running like a headless chicken.” It was Meguru who she had ran into. They heard the pair make their usual insults towards the other before walking off.

“Phew, that was close.” Said Ryuo, breathing a sigh of relief. “We should get going, but now I’m starting to think this date might actually be over.”

“Maybe you’re right, but come on.” She took his hand. “We might not be doing couple things, but I still want to be with you.”

“Me too.” He smiled as they walked out and quickly regretted that decision as it seemed that every time they walked past an alley, they would see either Niiya or Meguru and have to make a quick move to remain hidden.

“At this rate, I think it’ll be impossible to leave without them catching us.” She said after they emerged from their 12th hiding spot.

“It’s a good thing their hatred is distracting them, so they haven’t noticed us yet.” He responded as Ryuo tried to think of ways for them to leave.

“Maybe we should… Separate for now.” She suggested with sorrow in her tone.

“Sure… That’s the smart thing to do.” He spoke in an unmoving tone, but there was a subtle bit which betrayed his hidden frustration about the situation.

“Ryuo…” In a reversal of their earlier argument, it seemed their roles had been reversed, but what would make him want to stay together now? Or maybe it was what was splitting them apart that angered him? “Wait a second, look.”

“What?” He turned to look towards where she had her finger pointed. They saw as both Niiya and Meguru entered one of the alleys together. “Hmm, that one is a dead end.”

“And more importantly, we’re not stuck hiding in that one.” She continued on. “This is a great time for us to get some space between us and them.” He nodded in agreement, but as they were about to turn and run off to safety, the pair both froze in place as they saw a group of girls walking in that very alley. It wasn’t just some regular girls, but a gang which struck the pair at their core.

“We have to go back.” They both said in unison, both concerned about their respective friend’s safety. Though they said this, neither of them had a plan on how exactly they’d come in to save the day while still maintaining their cover.

They carefully hid around the cornered and watched helplessly as the scene unfolded. Despite her tough nature, Ryuo could see that Niiya was scared. Not surprising considering the numbers advantage the gang had. He then saw what he figured Meguru would do.

“That idiot, he’s always getting too worked up when it comes to these bullies.” He quietly said to Jurie. “I swear, he’s normally pretty rational.” His words were meant to downplay the moment, but she couldn’t help but be surprised that someone who looked like such a nerd would be standing up to protect Niiya like this. Could someone from Monta really be so brave?

“We have to do something.” She said when they saw him get punched. “Or else this is going to really end up being a mess.”

“Hmm, I got an idea.” He said, looking around the environment they found themselves in. Ryuo turned his hoodie around and readied the hood to cover his face. “Quick, give me your hat and shades.”

“I hope your plan isn’t just about looking stupid.” She did as he asked and handed him her accessories for a disguise.

“Just be ready to run.” He said, which filled her with worry. But before she could ask for clarification, he quickly ran into the alley and grabbed a trash bag that had been left besides the dumpster. He threw it with all his strength at the leader of the gang.

“Hey!” She yelled out, facing in the direction where the bag came from. “Who dares to mess with us?”

“I dare.” He spoke with a tough tone. “Now, how about you losers move along now?” Then with his heart beating fast, Ryuo turned around and sprinted away from the angry mob. As he rounded the corner, he took Jurie’s hand and shouted, “Help me run!” She had no choice but to lead him down the road with the gang now chasing them.

“It’s great that Niiya is safe now, but what about us!?” She said as she struggled to keep up with his running. “I don’t think being beaten up by the Dropouts gang was on your itinerary for our date!”

“I don’t know, I can’t see anything right now.” He yelled back, his shades and hoodie completely obscured his visions. It was a miracle he hadn’t tripped yet. “I’ve come up with all the plans, you think of something.”

“Okay…” She looked around as she ran, trying to think of something to avoid a painful fate. Jurie nearly drove herself to tears trying to figure something out. Fortunately, she was able to come up with a quick plan as they ran into the park. “I’ve got it.”

She stopped them behind a tree, dodging the gang as they ran past. There was little time, but thanks to the many bushes and trees cutting off line of sight from their pursuers, they should be able to pull her plan off.

“What is it?” He asked as he pulled down his hood to finally be able to have sight once more.

“Take off your clothes.”