Chapter 006: Schoolhouse

"Now, time to show you what happens to those who enter our territory without permission." Maou started walking towards him. When Maou reached him, to Ren's surprise, he didn't start beating him. "On second thought, let's take him to the schoolhouse. We'll draw less attention there." Maou said. Ren didn't show it, but, he was glad they were going to the schoolhouse. He hoped Okami was still there, maybe she could help.

The walk took about 10 minutes, which was longer than it would have taken, had he been traveling by himself and not been restrained. There were no signs of Okami, and, when Ren glanced down at his watch, he realized that it was 4:30, so Okami would most likely be long gone by now. Akuma and Mazoku shoved Ren and Ryu into an empty classroom with no windows large enough to fit through and no visible ways of escape, the perfect place for keeping hostages. "If I don't do something, Maou will beat us to death without batting an eye. He's done it before, so I know he won't hesitate to do it again, but, he won't do it right away. He wants to see me terrified and defenseless this time..." Ren thought, trying to come up with a way to break free and save both him and Ryu. "If I leave Ryu, Maou will kill him. But, if I save Ryu, chances are I'll get caught while trying to escape, and I can't expect Ryu to save me, as far as he's concerned, I'm responsible for his sister's death..." Ren couldn't figure out any way that both he and Ryu could escape, so, he decided what he had to do. When he was sure that no one was paying any mind to he and Ryu, he walked over to one of the less sturdy looking walls and started looking for the weakest point. He soon found it and started pulling out loose materials to try and make a big enough hole to fit through. While he was pulling out rocks, Ryu walked over. "What are you doing?" Ryu asked. "I'm making a way to escape." he replied. "What?! If we try to escape, they'll come after us! There's no way they'll let both of us escape!" he exclaimed. Ren didn't respond and, instead, focused on getting the hole bigger. Ryu watched as Ren made the hole bigger and bigger until, finally, it was big enough for someone to fit through. "Ryu, I want you to run as fast as you can away from here and don't look back. I'll block off the door and make sure they don't come after you. Don't stop for anything and don't slow down until you've gotten far, far, away from here." Ren told him. "What?! And leave you here to die?! Not a chance!" Ryu could hardly believe what Ren had just said. "Just do it. I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing and, if I'm lucky, she's still in the area." Ren said. "'She'? Who?" Ryu asked. "Oh, no one. Just someone I happen to know." Ren said. "I'm still not leaving you here. Whoever 'she' is, I'm sure she can help both of us." Ryu said. Ren could tell that Ryu wouldn't leave him behind, so, he said, "Ryu, are you sure that you don't want to just leave? There's no guarantee that she's even still here. I need you to be 100% sure." "I'm sure. I refuse to leave you here. I refuse to lose another person I care about." Ryu responded. "Alright. Now, you keep watch and tell me if someone is coming, I'll see if I can spot her." he told Ryu. Ryu walked to the door and started peering through the window to make sure no one was coming. "Um... Ren?!"