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Airi's POV
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"... Knight?" (Ryu)

Hearing someone address me, I lift my head towards the voice, only to see Ryu chained to a wall.

"As I thought..." (Airi)

"Oi! Shut your your damn mouth!" (Thug)

A stab of pain runs down my neck as the thug pulls on the chain attacked to the collar I'm wearing.

Well, this wasn't exactly how I thought this would go, but I suppose it works.

The thug drags me along for several more metres before opening a cell and throwing me in with little regard.

"I don't want to hear a damn peep out of you." (Thug)

His crude speech has little effect on me as I instead focus my sight further down the hall towards Ryu.

I see his head hanging from his shoulders, obviously deep in thought.

After waiting several minutes to make sure the thug was gone, I call out to Ryu in a whisper.

"Ryu. Hey, Ryu." (Airi)

"What?" (Ryu)

"So you are alive." (Airi)

"Of course I'm alive." (Ryu)

"Yeah yeah, anyway, we need to get out." (Airi)

"Big surprise." (Ryu)

Ignoring his sarcasm, I take a look at my shackles.

Simple rope, covering both hands. It's bound quite tightly too. I've also got rope around my calves, just loose enough to allow me to walk with difficulty.

To begin with, I focus my attention on my legs, trying to shuffle them so that the rope falls down to my ankles.

It takes several attempts, but my efforts bear fruit as the rope drops to my feet, now loose enough to remove them.

With my legs free, I can now focus my attention of my hands.

I take a look around my cell, only now realising how big it is.

When walking down the hallway, I had thought we passed several cells before reaching mine, but in fact, we had only gone past Ryu's and entered mine.

I spend several minutes searching my cell, looking for anything that could assist with getting the rope off my hands.

However, despite all the searching, I come up with nothing, slumping against the cold, stone wall.

"You need something?" (Ryu)

"Something sharp, honestly, but there's nothing here." (Airi)

"... Hold on then." (Ryu)

Hearing Ryu's command, I stand up and look into his cell,only to see him lifting himself up from the ground, despite his arms being chained behind his back.

He pulls his legs from under his body, both of them joined together by metal cuffs at the ankles of his feet.

Managing to stand up, Ryu takes a moment before trying to reach something on the floor with his foot.

In a few tries, he pulls it closer towards him, and I manage to get a good look at it.

"What... Is this?" (Airi)

"Dunno, but it looks sharp enough to cut through that rope." (Ryu)

Ryu nods towards me, signifying the rope around my wrists.

"We'll just have to try it then." (Airi)

Kicking it towards my cell, Ryu goes back into his previous position, probably finding it more comfortable than standing.

I reach through the bars between our cells and pick up the crystal-like object Ryu kicked over, slightly cutting my thumb in the process.

"Well, that proved its sharpness." (Airi)

Wasting no time, I get to work on cutting the rope, and it takes me a few minutes until I'm free.

As I rub my wrists, I walk towards the door to my cell and try to open it, but I'm met with resistance.

"Don't know what I expected. Of course its locked." (Airi)

Running out of options, I slump against the back of my cell, pondering to myself before I hear Ryu again.

"Knight, get your acting skills ready." (Ryu)

"Huh?" (Airi)

"HEY! HEY!" (Ryu)

A few seconds pass before I hear loud footsteps resounding down the hallway, before a large, well-built man appears in front of Ryu's cell.

"What the hell do ya want now, you damn kid?" (Kidnapper)

"Well, you know, I just thought my wrists hurt, so could you be so kind to release my hands?" (Ryu)

A smirk appears on the man's face, but it seems darkened from the large scar that goes across it.

Less than a second later, the man plants his fist into Ryu's face, sending small bits of blood over the wall.

As Ryu speaks, he coughs up some blood,
"Damn, you aren't very hospitable, are you?" (Ryu)

"Sorry, I'm not known fer being very friendly." (Kidnapper)

He punches Ryu again before turning his back.

"Oi Oi, can't you give me a little benefit, those punches hurt, you know?" (Ryu)

"Damn, you really do have some guts." (Kidnapper)

Laughing at Ryu's remark, he spins and lands a kick into his stomach, sending Ryu into a coughing fit.

"Next time, don't be so damn cocky." (Kidnapper)

Walking out of his cell, the man locks the door and walks back the way he came, his footsteps becoming ever quieter as time passes.

Once I no longer hear his footsteps, I stand up and walk over to Ryu's cell.

"Hey, Ryu, you OK?" (Airi)

He doesn't answer, but instead spits out a small, metal object.

"I... Think it's the key... To your cell." (Ryu)

Speaking in between coughs, Ryu lets me know of his suspicions.

"How did you...?" (Airi)

"That kick... Put my head quite close... To his hip... Where he kept the keys." (Ryu)

I pick up the key and walk over the my door, praying all the while for it to be correct.

Reaching in between the bars of my cell, I insert the key into the lock and turn it.

Click.

The door slowly swings open towards me as I breath a sigh of relief.

A cold breeze from down the hallway hits me as I step out my cell.

Walking past Ryu's cell, I nod towards him.

"Just hurry it up. I don't want to be here long." (Ryu)

Without replying, I go into a dash and head further down the same path the man went.

The wind I felt when stepping out of my cell blows again, sending a chill down my spine.

I run for a few minutes before finally reaching some stairs, the only other thing in the hallway.

Putting my foot on the first step, I hear voices at the top.

I stop moving and focus all of my attention on the conversation happening just before me.

"So, ya got a buyer?" (Kidnapper)

"Sure did, guy has a weird liking for feisty kids. I know we aren't much better, but people like that really do make me sick." (???)

"All the same, it's just business." (Kidnapper)

"I suppose so." (???)

"Well, how about we go do and get him?" (Kidnapper)

"Yeah, let's go." (???)

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Author Notes
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Hey hey, it's another chapter. I'm kind of happy about this one, but I don't feel like much happened, so I'm slightly worrying about that.

I'm also worrying about the entire kidnapping thing as a whole, because I'm not entirely sure if it actually fits with the current arc.

Though, I suppose I can't stop it now, so it'll have to work, and it'll be more work for me.