It's Now or Never!

"Shit! Alright you two! Go upstairs and hide, now!" Ren shouts turning to Daisuke and Shiro who nod, quickly going up the stairs and leaving the other two boys at the front door. Taro who is still behind Ren has his eyes glued to the door, shivering from the near-death experience he just had.

"Listen, I know you kind of hate me right now, but I really, really need your help here." Ren grits his teeth as the thing on the other side slams what could only be compared to a fist against the door with all its might, although it seemed to be having some trouble. Taro looks away from Ren as if considering his options, It wasn't like he could just leave Shiro and Daisuke. And with the way Ren was acting, it sounded like he couldn't do it without Taro.

But the thing that finally made Taro snap out of his resentment towards Ren was the monster on the other side of the door screaming. Its shriek sounded like one of pain; a guttural, blood-curdling scream. It was unbearable for Taro to listen to knowing that someone was underneath. The sheer amount of pain that whoever was beneath must have been feeling was immense.

"Alright. I'll help." Taro says coming out from behind Ren and joining his side. The two boys stand next to each other as the door continues to be battered, a gust of wind entering the room after each bash. Ren looks at Taro from the side of his eyes, almost not wanting to face away from the door. Taro was filled with the same confidence he had while he was hiding with Shiro, he wanted to fight for his friends.

"Are you sure? This is going to be dangerous." Ren asks, proposing a final chance to join Shiro and Daisuke. Taro - with a stoic expression - nods, while he knew Ren had it handled, Ren's mind wouldn't be completely in focus if he wasn't there. "Alright, follow my lead."

Ren grasps Taro's hand, his grip stronger than it was a few days ago. The urgency of the situation hit Taro like a ton of bricks, This wasn't even a one-and-done thing either there were likely more people like this. Ren raises his other hand aiming it at the door, Taro mimics this movement.

The slamming of the door gets louder, the screaming more extreme. It's now or never! Taro thinks, keeping his eye on Ren. The door shakes violently on its last hinge. Ren closes his eyes taking a deep breath. Taro trying to keep faith in his friend follows, closing his eyes.

CRASH

The monster broke through the door and rushed at Taro and Ren - at least that's what he thought was happening - Taro braced for an attack...

...But it never came. All noise stopped as soon as the door hit the ground. What was going on? Taro wanted to open his eyes to see, but he didn't want to ruin what Ren was doing. There was a sense that if Taro saw it, he would never recover again. There was nothing but silence, no screaming, no sound from a super magical attack, just silence.

"Alright, you can open your eyes now." Ren said, letting go of Taro's hand. Opening his eyes, Taro sees a man on his hands and knees, coughing and spluttering. Was he buried underneath the corruption? He must have been, how else would he have gotten here? Ren strides over to him, holding a hand out.

"Get up, you're free now." he smiles as the man grasps his hand although Taro could tell that he was stressed and tired. Whatever Ren did just a few moments ago took a toll on him; his breaths were much more shallow. "Run home and lock your doors. Don't trust anyone you see on your way."

"T-Thank you." The frightened man quivers as he flees out the door and down the street. Ren then picks up the door thrown off its hinges and places it back as if nothing happened. Considering Ren is working as a handyman after being kicked out of school, it came as no surprise to Taro that Ren was good at what he did.

Taro was still angry at Ren despite knowing that he was doing everything he could for him. The two stayed in silence for a while. It was hard to forgive someone who had lied to you for almost your entire life, even if it was protecting Taro from a harsh reality.

"Go upstairs and tell Daisuke that it's safe now." Ren demands still avoiding eye contact. Taro - listening but not responding - walks up the stairs, checking each room for Daisuke and Shiro.

Peering into each room, Taro let out a soft "Guys?" while trying to find his friends. Naturally, the two never came out of hiding, both of them were obviously smart enough to not trust everything they hear. Taro checked each corner, each closet, and even under the beds just in case.

Eventually, Taro notices a door on the ceiling in the hallway; the loft. Taro never noticed it before since it seemed insignificant at the time but he was sure Shiro was smart enough to suggest hiding there. Taro pulls the door down and a ladder attached to it falls to the floor with a loud clacking sound.

Taro climbs up and searches the attic. Ren, unsurprisingly, kept the room neat and tidy with not a single speck of dust being able to be seen. "You can come out now, it's over." Taro announces, looking over to where Daisuke was obviously hiding. Daisuke slouches back with a groan, almost as if melting to the floor.

"Damn! That was stressful as hell." Daisuke stretches while getting up, gesturing over to Shiro - who was behind Taro the entire time. The white-haired boy thought that those two must have come up with some kind of plan if the shadow were to get past him and Ren.

"At least Taro managed to deal with it well enough. We were really worried." Shiro sighed as the three of them climbed down the ladder, back into the main hallway. Returning to Ren who had now finished fixing the door that was knocked down just a few minutes prior, Daisuke grabs him by his hoodie and pulls him closer.

"What the hell was that!" He shouts causing Shiro to cover her ears. The confusion and anger that Daisuke was feeling at that moment had been shared by Taro. The boys just wanted answers since Ren clearly knew more than he was letting on. Taro half expected him to finally come clean and admit the reality of the situation to Daisuke.

"Don't worry about it."

"How! We could have died, Ren!"

"We'll talk about it once Kami comes back."

"And if this happens again before then? Then what?"

This causes Ren to flinch... It was absolutely a possibility that Taro was followed by more than one of those shadows, perhaps it was only a matter of minutes before another one showed up. Ren pushes Daisuke away before throwing his hands up in the air out of frustration.

"I DON'T KNOW! OKAY?" He shouts at Daisuke. The other three recoil, it wasn't often Ren got this worked up even if it was for a good reason like it is now. Ren retreats to the couch, he places his head in his hands as he sits down. "I... I don't know what to do if there's more of them..."

The tension in the air was thick and even if Taro did decide to go back to bed it was more likely he wouldn't be able to fall asleep again. It was around three in the morning anyway, there wasn't much point in trying to sleep.

Daisuke nudges Taro. "I think he's completely lost it." It was hard for Taro to disagree with him... the strain that Ren had to be feeling was definitely too much for him to handle and Taro was certain it'd only get worse. "We need to figure out what to do with Shiro though. She can't go home, at least not alone." Daisuke continues. That was the most logical sense he had ever made in his life.

Taro looks over to Shiro, who is now calling her parents on the phone. She paces back and forth as she tries dialling the number for one of her parents. Taro would have offered to let her stay but it would get cramped in the house - something Taro wanted to avoid, and he was sure that Ren wanted to avoid that too.

"Why won't it turn on!" she shouts, hitting her phone as if it'd turn on if she just used a little more force. She then flips it over, noticing that the battery had fallen out during the commotion and somehow she didn't know until now. Taro watches as all colour from her face drains, she is unable to contact anyone to let them know she's safe.

"It's fine, Daisuke and I will walk you home." Taro suggests only for Daisuke to hesitantly nod in response. Ren's gaze then moves over to Taro; he returns the death stare. It's not long before Ren slams his fist on the coffee table like a meteor striking the earth.

"You're not going anywhere! If anything happens to you it's my fault, you understand?" Ren's voice wavers as if he's on the verge of tears. Taro almost felt guilty, he was going against everything that his best friend was trying to tell him. Daisuke shakes his head, grabbing onto Taro's wrist.

"Give him some credit, he saved this girl's life." Daisuke objected with a smirk pointing over to Shiro with his thumb. Ren didn't even know how to respond to this. He knew it was the truth and yet he still wasn't ready to admit that Taro was stronger than he looked. He clenches his teeth almost as if he was trying to break them. Ren was clearly past his breaking point. And then suddenly as if something completely changed in his mind, he got up off the sofa.

"Alright, how about all four of us go then?" Daisuke and Taro look at each other in confusion. Taro didn't know how to respond, but to Daisuke and Shiro this seemed like an alright Idea. "It'll let me keep an eye on you guys, I can make sure nothing happens." Ren concludes. To Taro's dismay, he's outnumbered.

"Alright, fine. Let's just get this over with." Taro rolls his eyes, giving in to Ren's idea. It was a good thing that he did, Taro didn't know how long he could last with Ren's grimace directed towards him.

***

The morning sky was clear, it was still too young for sunrise so the stars scattered across the sky looked down upon Taro and his friends. Normally the darkness of night was enough to calm Taro, but tonight in particular it unnerved him. His mind kept comparing the glow of the stars to those horrific monsters that prowled throughout the town; it sent a shiver down his back.

The tension that was present in the house seemed to have followed them as they walked. Each of them seemed to have shunned Ren from the group for how he acted previously. Maybe Ren was right... Taro thought to himself, peering over at the golden-haired boy who walked not too far behind the rest of the group. Maybe we should have stayed home...

"Hey, Taro?" Shiro asked shyly, tugging on his sleeve. She holds her other hand close to her chest. "Is something going on between you and Ren? I don't think I've ever seen you angry at him like this before."

Taro, not knowing how to respond to her, shrugs off the question. At this point, he didn't know how he himself felt about the argument he had with Ren. It wasn't like he wanted to be angry at Ren.

He peers back at Ren, whose head is hanging in shame. Taro faces forward again, turning his gaze towards his feet. "It's complicated..." he murmurs in response to Shiro's question. Although his answer was more directed towards himself.

Daisuke nudges Shiro on the shoulder, causing her to jump. "Shut up and just guide us. I'm getting tired." He chuckles jokingly causing Shiro to snap back to what's actually important - getting home. Shiro quickly looks around, gathering her surroundings, and then finally she realises where they are.

"Oops! We missed a turn!" Shiro turns around, walking past Ren causing him to look up from the ground and finally meet Taro's eyes again. The two of them stand, staring at each other for a brief moment.

"Shiro! I can't freakin' believe you." Daisuke cries, passing Taro and Ren as they stand. Neither of them shifts from their stance, it's as if they're frozen in time, waiting for the other to make their move. The pressure felt by both parties isn't like how it was two days ago, this one can't just be laughed off. "Are you two idiots coming or what?" Daisuke finally breaks their lock, Taro rushes past Ren over to Daisuke and Shiro, who has gone round a corner into a culdesac.

Taro peers over his shoulder as he passes the blond man. He sees the broken heart of his best friend strewn across his face. Taro, at last, feels remorse for how he had treated Ren. He trusted Taro enough to finally admit his truth to him, but Taro just squandered that trust and compassion to fulfil his ideals. Taro knew it wasn't right; he hung his head in shame.

Clenching his fist, Taro continues walking. Apologies can wait, after all, they needed to make sure Shiro gets home safely. Taro starts returning to his new friends, splitting away from them is a rather bad idea given the current circumstances.

Suddenly a masculine scream rings out from just in front of Taro, causing him to look up from his feet. He expected to see another one of the corrupted attacking Daisuke and Shiro, but is relieved when the screams turn to laughter. Taro sees what he never thought he'd see in his entire life. Daisuke with a child-like smile laughs as Shiro clambers all over him. Daisuke's snarky nature appeared to have completely faded; he and Shiro looked like siblings play-fighting.

Taro runs to catch up with the two ahead of him and judging by the footsteps behind him, Ren begins running too in an attempt to keep up with them. "You two sound like you're having fun." Taro points out with a smile as he skids to a halt. Daisuke, realising that Taro had been watching wipes the smile off his face and replaces it with his previous smirk.

"Yeah, well gotta make sure she's not completely traumatised from that monster." Daisuke scoffs, almost mocking Shiro.

"Admit it, you had fun." Shiro taunts in response.

"Maybe... just a little bit." Daisuke's response was enough to make Taro smile. Even in such a small amount of time, Daisuke had changed a lot, even if he wasn't ready to admit it himself. Taro knew he'd eventually come around. He didn't know what Daisuke and Shiro were talking about previously, but it must have been something Daisuke wouldn't have shared or maybe Shiro told him a secret and he teased her with it.

At last, the four kids reach a small, cosy house. The door swings open and an older man - about late in his forties - comes barreling out grabbing Shiro by the wrists, bawling his eyes out.

"Where were you? I've been worried sick, it's half three in the morning!" the old man sobs loudly as he embraces his daughter. Shiro reciprocates the hug, wrapping her arms around her father. "You weren't picking up your phone, so I started panicking..."

"You have nothing to worry about, dad. Taro and his friends were with me." Shiro responds, causing her dad to look directly at the White-haired boy, who just gives him a shy wave in turn. The slim old man releases Shiro, and walks over to Taro, giving him a deep bow.

"Thank you, Taro. I'll forever be grateful to you." Wiping his tears away, the man stands up straight again. "You, and your friends."

"I can't take the credit, sir. Ren is the one taking care of the three of us." Taro chuckles nervously as he points to the sulking boy behind him who quickly jolts to attention at the call of his name. The old man and Ren's gaze meet, but Ren isn't able to hold it for long. The man bows once again to Ren.

"I apologise for my ignorance Ren. Thank you for protecting these kids." This causes Ren's face to flush a bright red. Considering he was one of those kids too, Ren started feeling more confident in himself.

"It's not a big deal, sir. They would do the same for me." he returns with a smile. The man nods, patting Shiro on the back and guiding her inside the house. Leaving the four of them outside.

Just as the old man is about to close the door, Ren calls out to him with urgency in his voice. The man slowly opens the door back up, waiting to hear what Ren has to say.

"Please, keep your doors, windows, any entrances locked... I've been hearing there are intruders going around and breaking into houses." Ren half lies, but the man takes him seriously, responding with a nod yet again. Understanding, the man turns back into his house, closing and locking the door behind him finally leaving Taro, Ren, and Daisuke together.

The three stand in silence briefly, soaking in what happened over the previous night. If Taro hadn't left the house in a fit of rage, would Shiro have been corrupted, or worse killed? Her father wouldn't have even known the fate of his daughter. Taro quickly shakes the 'what ifs' off his mind.

"We should head back. I'm tired as hell." Daisuke groans, slinging his arms above his head as he yawns loudly. Taro was also feeling exhausted, he was practically swaying back and forth as if about to fall asleep at any given moment.

"Right, you guys gotta sleep. School starts in a few hours."

"Ever the buzzkill Ren..." Daisuke sighs, partially agreeing with Ren's sentiment. "It's the last day before the weekend though. And we kinda deserve a day off, don't we?" he winks, obviously joking.

The three boys walk home knowing that what they had just experienced wouldn't be the last time they see something like that, from here on out they knew more of those shadow monsters - the corrupted - would show up. But for now, Taro just wanted to live his school life as he was supposed to.