A door opened as they were shoved inside.
Ryuji was pushed in first.
The big guy with the crowbar walked into the room before letting gravity do its thing and dropping Ren to the ground like a sack of potatoes.
No words were said as the door was shut behind them.
Ryuji moved to Rens side, kneeling down.
"Hey...you good?"
Ryuji's jaw tightened as he didn't get a response.
"C'mon Ren, this isn't the time to be messing around."
Ryuiji grabbed his shoulder and started to violently shake him.
"Ren...REN, WAKE UP-"
Ren suddenly sucked in a breath.
Then snapped his head forward.
His forehead slammed straight into Ryuji's face.
"…AH-!"
Ryuji recoiled instantly, clutching his nose as he stumbled back.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
Ren slowly lifted his head, eyes half opened, completely unfazed.
"…You done?" he muttered.
Ryuji stared at him, one hand over his nose.
"…You just headbutted me."
Ren blinked once.
"You were shaking me."
"…SO YOU HEADBUTT ME?!"
Ren pushed himself up slowly, like that was the most normal response in the world.
"Worked, didn't it?"
Ren stood with his hands cuffed behind his back, his gaze focused as he looked over the room they were in.
Ryuji stood next to Ren.
"What's the plan?" he asked.
"…We don't rush," Ren said quietly.
Ryuji frowned.
"…We're locked in a room."
"Yeah, and the second we force it, everyone outside hears it," Ren replied. "Too many of them and too many angles."
Ryuji crossed his arms slightly.
"…So we just sit here?"
"No," Ren said. "We make one of them come to us."
Ryuji glanced at the door.
"…And then?"
Ren turned slightly toward him.
"Then we deal with one instead of twenty."
Ryuji nodded slowly.
"…Alright. That I understand."
Ren shifted slightly, testing the cuffs again behind his back.
They were a bit too tight for his liking.
That meant every movement he did had to be precise.
Ren looked back at Ryuji.
"Listen," Ren said. "When the door opens, don't try to fight him."
Ryuji blinked.
"Then what am I doing?"
"You distract him," Ren said. "Loud, messy, annoying. Keep his attention on you for a second."
"A second?"
"That's all I need," Ren said.
Before the plan began, Ren rolled his shoulders.
"What are you doing?" Ryuji asked.
Ren didn't answer him.
He stepped back once, then bent slightly at the waist.
His body adjusted on its own.
He brought one leg up, stepping carefully over his own arms.
Ren shifted again, rotating his shoulders and sliding his wrists along his lower back.
Then, the cuffs came forward.
From behind to the front of his body.
"That wouldn't have worked a couple of hours ago," Ren muttered to himself.
Ryuji stared at him.
"You just...how did you even-"
Ren cut him off as he glanced at the door.
"Less questions," he said. "Let's start the plan."
Ryuji swallowed, then nodded. "Yeah. Got it."
Ren shifted his stance slightly, rolling his shoulders once, testing the new position of the cuffs in front of him.
"Same as before," Ren said quietly. "Make noise and keep him looking at you."
Ryuji tightened his grip on nothing, flexing his fingers like he was already holding a weapon.
Ren's eyes stayed on the door.
"I'll take him when he steps in," he said. "Don't move early...if you rush it, he backs off."
"…Right," Ryuji said.
Ryuji stepped forward.
Took a breath, then slammed his foot into the door.
"HEY!"
Another kick.
"HEY! OPEN THIS-!" he yelled. "YOU CAN'T JUST LOCK US IN HERE!"
Ren quickly heard footsteps approaching from outside the door.
The lock to the door clicked as a guard opened the door with a metal pipe in hand.
"What the hell is your-"
He wasn't able to finish his sentence as Ren moved.
Rens cuffed hands cup up as he caught the guard behind the neck, dragging him forward into the room in one sharp motion.
Ren's knee drove straight into the man's stomach.
The air left him instantly, his body folding forward.
Ren didn't let him drop.
He kept hold of the back of his neck, guiding him down, then shifted his weight.
His leg snapped up again, and a rising knee slammed into the guard's face.
The guard's head snapped back going loose, but Ren didn't stop.
He turned his hips and hooked his foot behind the guard's legs, sweeping his legs from underneath hgim.
The guard hit the ground hard.
Ren stepped over him immediately.
Rens foot came crashing down on the guard's face, not once but twice.
Silence filled the room.
Ryuji stood there for a second, staring.
"You just...dragged him in like that?"
Ren exhaled once, releasing the tension in his shoulders.
"…He stepped too far in," he said simply. "That's all it takes."
Ryuji blinked.
Then looked down at the guard.
"…Remind me not to ever stand too close to you."
Ren didn't respond.
He was already moving, checking the hallway.
"Grab the pipe," he said. "We need to find the girls."
Ryuji didn't hesitate.
"Yeah."
He bent down, scooping up the metal pipe the guard had dropped, testing the weight in his hand before stepping up beside Ren.
"…So where do we even start?" he asked.
Ren didn't answer immediately.
His eyes moved down the hallway instead.
Voices echoed faintly from deeper inside the building.
"…They won't keep everyone in the same place," Ren said finally. "Too risky."
Ryuji frowned. "Meaning?"
"They'll separate us," Ren said. "Control's easier that way."
"Which means we don't run around guessing," he continued. "We follow the noise. Find whoever's being watched the least."
Ryuji nodded slowly.
"…And if we run into more of them?"
Ren stepped forward. "Then we don't let them make noise."
That answer sat heavier than anything else he'd said.
Ryuji tightened his grip on the pipe.
"…Got it."
They moved through the building.
Ren took point, staying close to the wall, steps quiet, measured.
Every turn was checked before taken, every sound filtered before acted on.
Ryuji stayed just behind him now.
They reached the end of the hall before Ren stopped and signaled Ryuji to stop as well.
He glanced around the corner.
There were two doors, one was slightly opned with a bit of light spilling out while the second was completely closed.
He heard two male voices coming from the opned door.
"…Two inside," he said quietly. "Not paying attention."
Ryuji exhaled slowly.
"We take them?"
Ren nodded once.
"Fast...no noise."
"You go left," Ren added. "Swing for the head...don't hesitate."
Ryuji blinked.
"…You're trusting me with that?"
Ren glanced at him.
"You want me to do both?"
"No," Ryuji said. "I got it."
Ren shifted his stance slightly, hands still cuffed in front.
"…On me," he said.
Ren moved in an instant, with Ryuji following right behind him.
Both guys rushed through the doorway of the room.
The room was small with two men inside, one leaning back in a chair, the other half turned, mid conversation.
The first man barely had time to turn.
"What the-"
Ren closed the distance instantly.
He drove his shoulder into the first man's chest, knocking him backward off balance.
The chair behind him scraped loudly as he stumbled, arms flailing.
Ren didn't give him time to recover.
His leg snapped out low, striking the side of the man's ankle.
The mans joint gave.
The man collapsed sideways, crashing into the floor.
Ren stepped forward, pivoting his hips, and drove a sharp side kick into his ribs.
The impact folded him, a broken breath forcing its way out of his chest.
Before he could react, Ren stepped over him and brought his heel down hard against the side of his head.
On the other side, Ryuji moved.
He hesitated for a split second watching Ren.
But when he saw the other guy start to move he stopped hesitating.
It was either these two guards or them.
He was going to make sure it wasn't them.
Ryuji dashed to the guard, swinging the pipe in his hand.
The pipe connected with a sharp crack.
The second man dropped instantly.
Silence filled the room.
Ryuji stood there, breathing heavier than he wanted to.
"…Okay," he muttered. "Yeah...that worked."
Ren glanced at him briefly.
"It worked because you didn't hesitate," he said.
Ryuji let out a breath, shaking his head slightly.
"…Almost did."
Ren stepped past him, already moving toward the door on the other side of the room.
"Don't," he said. "That's how you lose fights."
Ryuji followed.
No hesitation this time.
The next hallway was narrower.
Again, Ren heard more voices.
Ren tilted his head just enough toward the right side of the hall towards a door.
Ryuji understood immediately, but before they could move.
They both heard footsteps approaching from behind them.
Ren turned immediately.
A man stepped into the hallway from the far corner, eyes snapping toward them.
"What the hell!"
The man raise his weapon ready to call out for more of his friends.
But Ren was on him in an instant.
Ren closed the distance in two steps.
His foot shot forward, driving straight into the man's midsection.
The impact forced him back into the wall, breath leaving him in a rough gasp.
Ryuji was right behind him, stepping his foot down and swinging his metal pipe like a baseball bat.
The man's head snapped to the side, his body collapsing instantly, sliding down the wall before hitting the floor in a heap.
Ryuji held the follow-through for half a second longer than he needed to, chest rising and falling as adrenaline hit him all at once.
"…Okay," he muttered, lowering the pipe slowly. "…yeah, that definitely worked."
Ren didn't answer.
He was already watching the hallway again.
"…That was loud," Ryuji added, glancing around.
Ren nodded slightly.
"Yeah," he said. "So we move before someone comes to check."
Ryuji tightened his grip on the pipe again.
"…Lead the way."
Ren stepped forward, passing the body without a second glance, his pace just a little faster now.
They stepped up to the door, both closely listening in.
Multiple voices reached their ears.
"…This is what happens when people panic," the boss was saying inside. "They stop thinking."
A soft shaky small voice followed.
"P-please…" Hina said.
"You're wasting your time," Miyu cut in.
A quiet chuckle answered her.
"…Am I?"
Ren stood still for a moment.
Behind him, Ryuji leaned in slightly.
"…That's them."
Inside the conversation continued.
"You...are a nurse, are you not?" The boss asked.
Those words were enough to confirm everything Ren needed to know.
All three of the girls were inside this room.
Ren didn't waste any time as he kicked the door open.
The door burst open with a violent crack as it slammed against the wall.
Everything inside snapped into motion.
Hina flinched hard at the sound, her whole body recoiling.
Miyu's head turned instantly, eyes locking onto the doorway
Ren was already infront of the boss as the boss turned around with his revolver coming up.
Ren's leg snapped out first.
A sharp kick slammed into the man's wrist.
The shot went off anyway.
A deafening crack as the bullet tore into the ceiling, dust and debris raining down.
The revolver flew from his hand, spinning across the floor.
The boss staggered back, clutching his wrist, eyes flashing with something that wasn't calm anymore.
Ren didn't give him time to recover.
The boss threw a straight punch at the same time that Ren stepped in.
Ren shifted just enough for it to pass.
His knee slammed into the man's midsection, folding him over as the air left his lungs in a harsh gasp.
Ren pivoted.
His leg snapped low, a clean leg strike into the side of the man's knee.
The boss dropped to one side, barely catching himself as his balance gave out completely.
Another kick from Ren drove into the side of his ribs.
The man folded, his breath breaking, whatever fight he had left draining out with it.
Ren stared at him trying to catch his breath before walking past him.
Ren bent slightly as he picked up the revolver he knocked out of his hands.
As he picked up the revolver something popped up briefly in the back of his mind.
System:
[Weapon Aim Proficiency]
Behind him, Ryuji had already moved to the girls, positioning himself between them and the rest of the room, pipe still in hand.
"…You're good," he said quickly. "We got you."
Hina and Shizuka nodded, shaking.
Miyu didn't speak.
The boss shifted slightly on the ground, trying to push himself up.
"…You don't have to do this," he said, his voice rough now, uneven.
Ren didn't hesitate as he pointed the barrel at the boss's forehead.
"…You kill me," the man continued, forcing the words out, "you lose control of everything out there."
Ren looked down at him.
"Tell someone who gives a shit."
The gunshot echoed through the room.
.....
End of Chapter 10