[Open] Moonlit Meanderings

[Great, here comes the whole reason I'm rarely on Ryuu. >.<]

"N-NO! Don't-..don't go with him!"

Is she NUTS?! She can't do that!

Wait...Sumiko..Where have I heard that name before?

Sumiko grabs his shoulder, feeling the modifications of his cybernetic arm
"B-Because....I-I realized something, Eric. I....Do like you."
If she had told him the truth it would have just made thing a bit worse she had to lie. it was probably the only way the boy and Sayuri would get out of here safely.
"L-Lets *gulps* go...."

"Sumi-" Sayuri freezes upon realizing she almost addressed Sumiko by her first name, an almost unforgiveable breach of formality for someone brought up as refined as Sayuri. She quickly corrects herself. "Nakagawa-san...you don't have to do this..." Despite her words, Sayuri realizes that she is essentially powerless in this situation, blade or no blade. She sighs heavily, and replaces the kendo blade in its sheath at her back, shaking her head. "I can't stop you. Either of you. But you're both making big mistakes. Now, if that would be all...I'd like to get back to normality."

Sayuri places her hands on the wheels of her chair and slowly starts rotating it, turning away from Sumiko, Eric, the Husks and the strange other boy. I wish I could do more to help Sumiko...but there's nothing else I can do. If only I wasn't confined to this god-damned wheelchair...hmph. Get back to normality. That won't happen until I'm out of this thing. And besides...I'm not so sure this is all over yet. There's a lot more to this than just this boy's obsession with Sumiko...those strange creatures, that strange boy...the name "Takeshi"...

"Of course you can't stop me. You're in a wheelchair!" Eric says with a laugh, and turns back to Sumiko, grinning. "I knew you'd come around! Lets be off." HE says, and seizes her hand and leads her in the opposite direction, completely neglecting to pick the map back up telling him where to ACTUALLY go...

Sayuri turns and heads in the other direction, silently seething. I hate this wheelchair. I hate being so powerless. I wish I'd never had that damned growth spurt. She has not gone too far before her rage sends her straight back. On the other hand...powerless or not, that man has no right to laugh at my condition. He has no right to laugh at me. I may not be able to fight him, but I can still give him a piece of my mind!

Or apparently not, as upon returning to the spot she was at a few minutes earlier Eric and Sumiko have, understandably, gone, presumably heading to wherever Eric's destination is. There is, however, something else, something Sayuri had missed before. Perhaps because her attention had been focused elsewhere, onto Sumiko and Eric. Fuelled by her determination, which in turn was fuelled by her newly-kindled hatred, she exited the wheelchair, picked the map up from off the ground and returned to her wheelchair with merely a few grunts on pain and a slight wobble to betray the fact that she needed the wheelchair in the first place.

A map...now this is an interesting development. There's a location marked on here...is this where he's taking Sumiko? Should I call the police? I have no evidence that any crimes have been committed...in any case, he won't be getting too far without this. I'll figure out what to do with it later, perhaps.

She's from the lunchroom that one time I came and they left suddenly-that's where she's from!

I call out to the girl when they start to leave but to no avail.

"St-! S~STOP!"

Whatever this is, it is very strange and I can't help but feel this is too big not to have to do with the kidnappings.

I mean that guy had pet...THINGS!

I'm tempted to go after them but I know I wouldn't be any match. I'm already noticbly out of breath and I'd probably collapse if I tried to take on the rest of them. Especially that psycotic kid.

"Dammit!"

I notice the girl in the wheelchair standing with a piece of parchment just a moment before she sits down.

What is that she has there...

I walk over to the girl with a concerned look on my face. Silently looking at the paper.

What the...

Sayuri notices Ryuu reading the map over her shoulder. "Oh...hello. So, where do you suppose this map leads?"

"Hm."

This must be his. If I remember correctly, he was carrying a piece of paper when I knocked him down...

My head slowly looks over to the direction the boy went.

"Wherever it leads it-..it m-m~must be im-..important to h-him..."

"It's probably where he and Nakagawa-san are headed...or ...trying to head. If we follow it, it might lead us to them."

"Hm."

My head dips toward the girl and then gestures toward the place marked on the map.

[...I'm not sure where to go with this now, because no doubt there are a lot of others who need to or would like to get involved in this finale (Cook, Hawke, etc.), and the two of us can't take down Takeshi's compound on our own, but...we have the map now. I don't know where to go with this.]

[Head back to Yamaku with it?]

[Ah, that makes sense.]

Sayuri has a sudden thought. "Wait a minute...those strange creatures with the boy...perhaps this is somehow related to the kidnappings! I'm sure I heard that Nakagawa-san was assisting the investigation somehow, perhaps that's why she was taken. If this map leads to the kidnappers, and those they currently have hostage, then we should take this to the investigation team so they can mount a full rescue operation."

If I recall correctly from my conversation with Wade, they currently have Hatsuhara-san. Veach-san seems to have gone missing again so it's safe to assume they have retaken possession of him as well. Are we too late to prevent them from getting fully converted...? At any rate, we should be able to stop anyone else from suffering that fate.

'Wait a minute...'

My legs stop moving.

After hearing the girl's reason I turn half way and let my head turn the rest.

"Hmm."

I turn the rest of the way.

"Sh~~sh-shall-shall I c-..carry it and go-g-..go on ahead back?"

No offence miss, but even an out of breath man with a muscular disorder can travel faster than a girl in a wheel chair in a forest.

...

How the Hell did you even get out here in the first place?!

Chris jumps down from his tree perch and turns his attention to Sayuri. "Mind if I have that?"

Sayuri jumps with surprise before realizing who it is. "Cook-san...no, of course not. Go ahead."

"Thanks." Chris pulls out his mobile phone and gets into contact with a person from his past. "Hey, man. I have some coordinates I need you to pinpoint for me. Rachel? Rachel's fine. Let's focus on the map for now." Chris turns back to Sayuri, after hanging up on his friend. "Excuse me, Motozaki-san, but could you please take a picture of the map for me?"

"I'm sorry, I don't have my mobile phone on me. This dress doesn't have any pockets." Should've thought about that, really.

[I would have obliged, but it's already been established earlier on that she doesn't have her phone, so...]

"Hm."

I take out my phone and snap the picture.

"Number?"

Chris snags the exhausted looking man's phone and sends the picture to his friend. "Sorry, guys, but I have to act so forceful to put a stop to all of this." Chris receives confirmation of Eric's hideout and immediately returns Ryuu's phone to him "Get to somewhere safe and keep your friends and loved ones close." Chris makes a swift break to where he saw Eric and Sumiko leave.

"W-w-wait!"

Dammit-man! What could a single man do to them?!

I move to follow but then remember the other girl.

Should I go back to tell the others or go try to help that guy?

...Perhaps I can do both.

I toss my phone to the girl in the wheel chair.

"Tell the~t-..tell the others. The map is on-..is~on my ph-phone."

And with that I rush in the general direction the boy went.

Sayuri catches the phone and nods. "Okay. I will." She turns round and heads off in the opposite direction, towards Yamaku.

[Shall I make a new thread for her arriving back with the map image?]

[I kind of figured you would call the necessary people and send them the map since it probably would take forever for a girl in a wheel chair to navigate such rough terrain.]

[I made the new thread: https://ksnewgen.forummotion.com/t629-open-rallying-cry#13179 I took your suggestion, Ryuu, but she still had to leave the forest first to send the photo because you don't get terribly good cell reception while in a forest ]