"Great!" Robyn beamed as she slapped him on the back. "Friday night it is."
******
That Friday night, Kento and Robyn's "date" turned into more of a "lounge around Kento's house and eat junk food" type endeavor. It was getting late and Robyn had graciously volunteered to help get the younger children--mainly Chun Fa into bed. Mama Faun had just gotten home from a frantic day at work and was very grateful for the assistance.
"Now why couldn't my oldest have been a girl like that," Mama Faun mentioned as she walked by where Kento was lounging on the couch.
"Aww Ma! Give it a rest," Kento whined. "I do plenty of stuff around here. Just because I didn't offer to help one night..."
"Well I'll remember this next time I make my homemade blueberry pie."
Kento clenched his fists at the threat. She always knew how to hit him where it counted. And bringing his favorite dessert into the argument was low, even for her.
"Geeze!" Kento exclaimed. "Fine, I'm going already!"
The Warrior of Strength moodily tromped up the stairs while his mother watched him with amusement.
"Get's him every time," she smiled to herself.
Kento traveled the few steps on the second level where Chun Fa's bedroom door was cracked open. Kento didn't go inside right away, instead he stayed behind the door frame, listening as Robyn read "Horton Hatches an Egg" to his baby sister and doing the best Mazy Bird impression he had ever heard while she was at it.
"Well, that's it Shorty," Robyn announced as she reached the end and slapped the book shut. "Now time for bed so hop to it."
Chun Fa grinned and happily climbed under her covers.
"That was a great story," she announced happily. "You even read it better than Kento. He always gets stuck with the big words."
"Hey, hey," Kento protested as he finally made himself known. "I thought we were going to keep that to ourselves." He leaned against the doorway and grinned, not looking as put out as he had made himself to sound.
Robyn looked up and grinned at him. "Well you know that Dr. Seuss, those rhymes are sure hard reading sometime."
"Yeah, yeah. Real funny," Kento said in an amused tone. "We better get going soon or we'll be late."
"Robyn?" Chun Fa asked as she got up to leave.
She paused and waved Kento out. "Yeah?"
"Is Kento your boyfriend now?"
Robyn chuckled. "What is it with you and boyfriends?"
The little girl looked confused. "Don't you want one? I thought all girls want to have a boyfriend."
"Not this girl," Robyn announced. "You need to stop watching so much tv. Relationships come in their own due time. No need to try to force them upon yourself early. But if it makes you feel any better I'll leave Cye for you for when you're ready for one."
"Yeah!" Chun Fa instantly agreed.
"Robyn laughed as she turned off the light. "Night Kiddo."
"Robyn?" Chun Fa instantly asked again. "Will you close the closet door? I can't sleep with it open. It's dark and scary."
Robyn gazed down the hall to the open doorway on the opposite end.
"No problem," She smiled. "Good night."
Chun Fa happily closed her eyes as Robyn made her way across the upper floor to the other side. She gazed inside at the large multipurpose game room, most often referred to simply as "the closet". The darkened room seemed to swallow all the light that spilled in from the hall. Robyn had to agree why Kento's sister was afraid of it. She had to admit there was a creepy feeling in the air that made her shiver. Maybe it was just because it was late, or maybe because she had been thinking about that haunted house all day. Nevertheless, Robyn was more than happy to get the door closed and then get away from it.
"Okay, I'm ready now," Robyn announced as she came down the stairs. Kento was already at the bottom waiting for her with her jacket in his hand.
"We're heading out now Ma," he called to the other room.
Mama Faun appeared a moment later as Robyn put on her jacket.
"And where will you be headed?" she asked.
"We're gonna catch a late movie," Kento said without skipping a beat. "So don't bother waiting up. You need your sleep."
His mother smiled. "Fine, you just drive safe," she said as she kissed her oldest son on the cheek. "And behave yourself."
"Aw Ma," Kento whined. "You know I'll be good."
Mama Faun grinned. "We'll see, but I'm sure Robyn will keep you in line."
The girl chuckled and nodded at this.
"You two have fun then."
"We will," Kento promised as they started out the door. "G'night."
The two had gone to the late movie like they said they would. But after that it was a different story. Kento didn't turn down the road that would lead him home or even to Robyn's neighborhood. Instead he kept driving until he was headed out of town. The jeep drove down one dilapidated street and stopped across the road in front of a particularly run down house. A clean, well kept truck with two boys inside were already there waiting when they got out.
"I didn't think you'd actually come," Hiroshi said as they approached his truck on foot. The other kid sitting with them didn't say anything and looked very nervous compared to his cool friend.
"Hey, I don't back out of anything," Robyn challenged.
"I see you brought ReiFaun with you." Hiroshi only glanced at the burly boy behind her. "Is he here to be your bodyguard?"
"Yeah," Robyn shrugged. "You said yourself the house is falling apart so why take chances? Besides," she added. "I needed someone who's good at gloating for when we win."
Kento smirked at that remark while Hiroshi merely glared at him.
"Fine," he said nonchalantly. "Here." He handed her two plastic sticks.
"Glow sticks?" Robyn guessed.
"Yeah," Hiroshi smirked. "I wouldn't want you falling into some demon hole by accident before you can run out screaming. Then you'd win the bet. Besides, it makes it creepier when you can see only two inches in front of you."
"How kind," Robyn mumbled as she broke the capsules in the two sticks and started shaking them until they glowed in the dark. "And what will you be doing when we go in?"
"We'll be right here timing you to see how long it takes before you both come bawling for your mommies."
Robyn remained undaunted by the remark though Kento started to look more than a little annoyed. "Right, and how will we know when an hour is up?"
"_IF_ you make it the entire hour we'll honk the horn when it's time to come out. But we want to see those glow sticks in the window of the top floor at least once so we know for sure you went all the way in."
"That's fine with me," Robyn agreed. "Come on Kento." She handed him one of the glow sticks and they started off for the house.
Kento paused in front of the house to take a look at it. He had never in his life been this close to it before. He had heard all kinds of horror stories about this place as far back as he could remember. His school mates told them to him and he, of course, took them home to scare the socks off his younger brothers. But this was the first time he was presented with the opportunity to go inside it. Earlier that day he hadn't worried about it, thinking this would be a piece of cake after having faced floating demon heads and evil warlords for the fate of the planet. But now that he was here, he couldn't ignore the icy fingers jutting up his spine nor the feel of his soul sinking into the pit of his stomach. Kento never knew which stories about this house were true, but one thing he was sure of; something felt wrong about this house.
"Hey Kento," Hiroshi called from his car. "No use just standing there. We're not starting the timer until you actually get in the house!"
There was laughter from across the road and Kento was sorely tempted to educate them on what fear really was.
"Don't mind those jerks," Robyn told him. If she felt any affects of the unnerving house she didn't show it. "Let's just get in and get this over with so I can get my money. Then we'll go out for ice cream or something."
"Sounds like a plan to me," Kento agreed as he stooped to get under the broken door, following Robyn into the old dilapidated house.
The first thing they did upon entering was look around their surroundings as much as possible with the little light they had. Robyn's first prerogative was to make sure there were no hazards on the ground where they were walking while Kento insistently kept checking out the doorways to make sure nothing was there. He was starting to get a bit flustered at Robyn's lack of concern for their predicament. She was making him look like the coward of the group!
"Doesn't this place bother you at all?" he asked in a quiet voice.
"Not really," Robyn replied casually as she made her way slowly forward. She was already starting to look for the staircase.
"But haven't you heard.....the stories?" Kento said the last part even quieter than before, as if afraid the spirits listening in the walls would hear.
"Yeah, I had to listen to all of them during second hour."
"Doesn't that bother you at all? Man, can't you just feel the creepy vibes in this place?"
"Pfff," Robyn made a sound of dismissal in the dark. "It's all how you look at it Kento. Come on, I'll show you."
She took his hand and pulled him to the far wall where a black, empty fire place lay dormant. She pulled him down so both were squatting next to it with their little glow sticks together barely light enough to see it.
"Take this fireplace for example," Robyn explained. "Now what if the owner of this house was someone's grandma? She would sit in her rocking chair right over there knitting sweaters for the grandchildren playing up stairs while all these cats sleep around in this warm room. Or it's Christmas and there's a tiny little tree in this corner here and we've got a little girl and a little boy playing with their new toys by the fire while a puppy chews on the paper wrappings."
Kento's face lightened a little at the thought but instantly went serious again. "And what if this place was used for devil worshiping fires and this is where they burned the bodies of all their sacrificial victims?"
Robyn momentarily threw him a "thanks-for-the-wonderful-thought" type look but then she smiled herself.
"Ah, but picture all the demons with marshmallows over their devil worshiping fires. They're making Evil S'mores, heh."
Kento laughed. "Where do you come up with these kind of things?"
Robyn shrugged. "Trust me, I've seen scarier things than this. It's not so bad."
Kento's smile disappeared as Robyn stood up. He had thought the same thing earlier until he had actually gotten here. So how was it he was the one who was so nervous?
"Come on," Robyn said as she pulled him up. "Let's go upstairs and stand in the window so the guys can see us. Then we can go do whatever we want for the rest of the hour. I just hope Hiroshi doesn't pull a fast one on us and honk the horn early just so we'll loose the bet."
"Don't sweat it Robyn," Kento said. "I'm timing us too with my Indeglow." He motioned to his wrist where he pressed a button and his watch glowed so they could see the time."
Robyn grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. "I knew there was a reason I brought you. Now let's go. I just hope those things can still hold our weight. This house is a bit older than I initially thought it would be."
Slowly, carefully the two made their way through the house, dodging the occasional spider web or rotting floor plank. It took them a while of inching around in the pitch black before they were finally able to locate the aging staircase.
"About time," Robyn said as she tugged on the hand rail experimentally. It seemed sturdy enough. Robyn bent down closer to examine the first step before edging some of her weight on it. The wood whined and creaked under her shoe but other than that it held.
As Robyn went about testing the first few steps, Kento cautiously looked around him. There were still too many dark open doorways for his comfort. All together too much house and too much darkness within. He could only guess at what horrible things they would find if they ventured forth to these other rooms; or even to the upstairs. What if they found implements of black magic or human bones or human blood? Or worse, what if they found something that wasn't quite dead?
Kento had to force himself to stop. His wandering mind was beginning to unnerve the once thought to be fearless warrior. He tried to conjure up the old image of marshmallows and S'mores Robyn had provided him with, but it didn't work this time. That strange feeling in the pit of his stomach began to return. That haunting feeling that something was watching, waiting. He gazed worriedly, on the brink of fear, around the room. In the corner of his eye he thought he saw something. A flash of movement. His eyes snapped back to that place but whatever it happened to be, there was nothing there now. An involuntary shiver ran through his body. Kento could have sworn he saw something.
"Come on Kento," Robyn called to him from halfway up the stairs. "Don't worry, they'll hold you."
Kento snapped out of his shock when he realized his only company in this creepy place was leaving him.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he called as he dashed up the steps. "Man, I think I saw something down there."
"Probably a rat or something," Robyn confided as she continued up the stairs without even looking back. "I bet all kinds of creatures use this place for their home."
They reached the top of the stairs. Kento almost jumped when he felt a cold hand touch his arm. But he instantly relaxed when he realized who it was. Robyn's fingers search his arm until she was able to slip her small hand into his larger one. Kento could see her smiling at him slightly by the faint green light of her glow stick. Could it be that she was starting to get scared herself? Either way, the small gesture made Kento feel better.
"To make sure we stick together," Robyn explained quietly as she pulled him further on.
Kento just nodded and squeezed her hand, wondering if she noticed how hot and sweaty his palm had gotten.
"There we go," Robyn announced. "Boy, we sure lucked out with that full moon tonight."
She pointed down the hall. The only way the two could tell there was a window at the far end of the house in the pitch blackness was that moonlight was shining through the dusty glass.
"Yeah, just great," Kento muttered, remember all the scary things that came out during a full moon.
Robyn ignored his tone and pulled him along. They slowly edged down the hall and into what was probably used as a bedroom at one time. Across the open floor they stepped until they finally reached the window and it's precious rays of moonlight.
"Here we are Hiroshi, you big jerk," Robyn muttered to herself as she waved her glow stick in the window. "You know Kento, the more I get to know that guy the less I like him. I wish this stupid stick was bright enough so he could see me flip him off."
Kento laughed. "I'd gladly join ya. Heck, he's probably down there fuming already. Did you hear how he sounded earlier? He didn't think we would even make it this far. He's so full of himself. And I bet that little weasel he brought with him has peed his pants by now."
Robyn laughed loud enough that it echoed throughout the empty house. "He'll probably have a heart attack before we can get back."
Both had a good chuckle and then it went quiet.
"So..." Kento said as he fiddled with his glow stick.
"So...." Robyn echoed as she blew her long bangs out of her face.
"Wanna go back downstairs now?"
"Yeah."
They both turned away from their small amount of light and back towards the black doorway. This time Kento was the one who reached out for Robyn's hand. She gladly accepted it and once again took the lead. Robyn had just barely made it through the doorway when she screamed and jumped back into Kento.
"What? What?" Kento panicked as he dropped his glow stick and grabbed her shoulders.
Robyn clutched at her heart as she pointed across the hall. A small glowing green object floated at the other end.
"Mirror," Robyn explained as she waved her stick and the reflection followed. "Didn't see that on the way up. Scared me half to death."
"Geeze! Don't do that again!" Kento admonished as he bent to retrieve his glow stick. "Just about killed me, too!"
Robyn shook her head. "Man, there just had to be a mirror in this place. Now that really creeps me out."
No sooner had those words escaped her mouth than Robyn wished she hadn't spoken them. You just don't say things like that in places like these. That was as if inviting things to happen. In an instant Robyn's brave facade retreated and she could tell by the way Kento squeezed her hand that he wasn't doing much better. A sudden chill seemed to go through the house but the two pressed on towards the staircase.
Robyn kept her head down as she went, keeping her eyes focused on the banister. She refused to look ahead at that crooked, cracked mirror. Often reflections showed more that what appeared to the naked eye and Robyn wasn't too thrilled about seeing anything more than those stairs. Kento was trying to do the same thing. He kept his eyes on Robyn's back. Since everything else was nothing but black he wouldn't be able to see much anyway.
The first stair creaked as Robyn eased her weight on it. Kento looked up at the cracked mirror on the wall and his breath froze in his throat. The reflection revealed something standing behind him in the doorway. Something with glowing red eyes. Kento whirled around to face what he had seen, but now the doorway was empty again. He gazed back to the mirror again. Nothing.
"Uh, Robyn," he called, panic clearly rising in his voice.
"Kento, be quiet," Robyn shushed. "You're just going to make it worse."
"Robyn, maybe we should get out of here, I saw--"
"Look, let's just get down stairs, okay? No need to start panicking."
By now Robyn had let go of his hand and was focusing all her energy into simply getting to the bottom of the stairs.
"Robyn!" Kento called as he jumped after her.
Suddenly there was a sickening snap and in an instant the two teens' dark world collapsed in on itself. The stairway beneath her feet seemed to disappear and Robyn felt herself fall. How far she fell, she never knew. But it was far enough that it hurt when she hit solid ground. The collision knocked the wind out of her and a shower of broken wood and dirt fell from above.
Robyn dared not move until the house was quiet again. Then slowly she eased herself out of the fetal position she had curled up in. She coughed as she removed the layer of dust and boards that had fallen over her. Her forehead hurt. She reached up to feel a wet spot. Blood. It didn't seem too bad so she merely wiped it off on her sleeve. Robyn lifted her head when in the distance she heard the screeching of tires as it retreated down the road. Hiroshi.
"Cowards!" she spat into the darkness. "Those blasted cowards!"
That was when Robyn realized something was wrong. There was no friendly voice from the shadows to join in on her cursing.
"Kento?" she called to the darkness.
Nothing.
"Kento, where are you?" her voice grew meeker with every word. "Please answer me."
The only answer she received was the creaking of the old house as it settled and the echoes of her own voice. Robyn forced back the panic that was pushing it's way up her throat. She had to stay calm, she had to think. She had no light whatsoever now, not even enough to see her hand in front of her face. Both glow sticks were more than likely buried beneath the rubble. She would never find them.
Slowly Robyn edged her way through the darkness on her hands and knees, feeling her way around blindly. Her whole body was sore, she could feel every bruise. Especially her sides, it hurt when ever she touched them. But Robyn refused to give in to her own pain. She had to find Kento. Moving on, she bit back a cry as her leg sank into a rusty upturned nail. She pulled back before it went in too deep, but now was not the time to worry about it. It was several frighteningly long minutes before Robyn happened upon a large heap of rubble. She felt an arm sticking out of it. The skin was still warm.
"Kento?" she asked as she started to remove the debris off the body.
He didn't move, didn't make a sound. Robyn could feel the tears stinging her eyes as she felt around his chest, searching upward until she came in contact with his neck. The skin was sticky with blood but Robyn pressed her fingers against it nonetheless. A different feeling of relief surged through her when she found a strong pulse beneath her finger tips. Tilting her face closer she could feel his rhythmic breathing. But Kento was out cold.
"Oh man," Robyn fretted. "Don't worry Kento, I'm going to get you out of here. You'?ll be okay."
It took all her strength just to heft the more massive form into a sitting position. Kento's limp head fell against her shoulder. Robyn put her arms around him when she noticed there was still a piece of wood clinging stubbornly to his back.
"What is this?" Robyn wondered.
She tried to brush the object away but it refused to budge. In an attempt to figure out what was keeping it there, Robyn slid her nimble fingers beneath the wood where she found not one, but two large nails embedded in Kento's back.
"Oh Kento, I'm so sorry this happened," Robyn whispered to him. "This is all my fault."
She gritted her teeth before closing her eyes and yanking the board away from the body. Kento didn't stir. Robyn reached back to feel the wounds but there wasn't much blood there. She wondered if that was a good sign or bad. Either way, she didn't have time to worry about that now. The important thing was to get Kento out of the house and to a hospital as soon as possible. Her main task would be dragging Kento's weight out the door only.......
Robyn looked around as the realization suddenly hit her. There was no door. It, like the window, was easy to spot because the door merely hung on its hinges and the moonlight could clearly be seen shining through the openening. But here Robyn saw no moonlight, just darkness.
But if there was no moonlight, that meant they had fallen farther than Robyn had thought. They must have gone right through the floor to the basement. Robyn's heart jumped into her throat. They were at the bottom--trapped with no way out in a not only rumored to be haunted house, but a very dangerous and unstable house as well. Robyn couldn't hold back any more as tears of fear and frustration flowed down her cheeks.
"I'm sorry," she choked into Kento's lifeless shoulder. "I can't do it. I need help. I don't know what to do."
Right then, Robyn noticed something she somehow missed before. Something inside the front of Kento's shirt was...glowing? Robyn reached down his collar and pulled out what looked to be a glowing orange marble on a chain that was around his neck. The light radiating from it was brighter than any glow in the dark toy Robyn had ever seen. But it was light and Robyn wasn't about to question it. She removed the object from Kento's neck and held it by the chain out in front of her. The glowing orb instantly lit up the room and in the far corner Robyn saw what was left of the stairs reaching just high enough to get to the level above.
Robyn felt her heart lighten. She couldn't believe her luck! Nor could she explain how this simple little ball suddenly made her feel safe and unafraid. Thanking whatever powers were watching over her that night, Robyn slipped the chain around her own neck so she could continue to have light as she proceeded with the task at hand.
The small girl wasted no time in draping Kento's arms over her shoulders and half dragging, half carrying him towards their only way out. Worry pricked at the back of her mind as Robyn neared the stairs. The whole frame looked so frail. It would be a wonder if it would hold her weight alone, let alone Kento's. She could probably make it out safely if she went up alone. A small plan entered her mind as she thought about leaving him while she got out and then ran for help. But she dismissed that quickly. There was no way in the world she was going to leave Kento alone for any reason. Either they both got out or they would both stay, she decided as she started ever so slowly up the rickety stairs.
The going was slow. The whole thing creaked with a threat to break with each step but Robyn pressed on. The length of Kento's body was laid down the length of the stairs as to keep his weight distributed so that one stair wouldn't have to hold it all. Robyn went up backwards, tugging the limp body with her one step at a time. Some of the steps were already broken and Robyn almost fell in a few times.
The stairs groaned and swayed as they got higher. Almost at the top now, there was a space of about two and a half feet above from where the stairs ended and the upper floor began. And when you're a small girl trying to haul something twice your size and weight, two and a half feet can be a long way.
Robyn wiped her forehead again as blood started to drip into her eye. She had to pause to catch her breath. Her sides hurt so bad from the strain it was hard to breath. Reaching up to the boards above her, Robyn tested to see if it was sturdy enough to hold them. Well, it was sturdier than the stairs they were on anyway. That was good enough for her.
She stood carefully, knowing that putting all her weight on the top stair alone was dangerous enough. Gingerly she reached down and started to pull her companion up with her.
"Please hold, please hold," she muttered to herself as the stairs sounded like they would give way any second.
Robyn gritted her teeth as she pulled the dead weight up with her and fought to get a standing position on the top stair. One arm was wrapped around Kento while the other held to the floorboards in order to steady herself. Robyn was slowly easing the limp body onto the floorboards when there was another snap similar to the first one.
Robyn screamed as the stairs broke beneath her. At that very flash of an instant Robyn gave up. She had done everything in her power but it still wasn't enough. There was no way she could hold onto the floor boards and Kento and then pull them both up. She just couldn't go on any more. So instead she planned on accepting her fate.
But also in that same instant something else happened. As the stairs collapsed, a strong arm suddenly snapped to life. Robyn felt herself fall for only a microsecond before something grabbed her and pushed her back up the floor boards.
"Kento!" Robyn cried with relief as she dangled by her arms from the floorboards.
The Warrior of Strength himself was only holding on by one hand.
"Always in the nick of time," he smirked with his usual charisma. He latched on with his other hand and pulled himself up.
Robyn had a harder time climbing out. She was exhausted, plus her sides were killing her. Kento offered her a hand but was only able to pull her up part way before he suddenly crumbled unconscious again. Robyn was able to pull herself the rest of the way out, but she still whimpered pathetically as she lost her friend again. This night seemed to go on forever and she was so tired!
But now the door was mere feet away and past it, Kento's jeep. After taking a moment to catch a second wind, Robyn once again draped the lifeless mass over her shoulder and slowly dragged it out of the cursed house, across the road and finally to the jeep. With her last ounce of strength she hoisted Kento into the passenger seat. Her right pant leg was soaked in blood from her earlier puncture wound as she limped around to the driver side and got in.
"Never.....again..." she panted to herself as she started the roaring engine.
Robyn didn't even look back as they drove towards the city.
*******
It was very late at night--or very earlier in the morning, depending on your perspective. The halls of the Toyama hospital were practically empty during this time. The late shift staff went about their own business and hardly anyone noticed or even saw Cye Mouri as he traveled swiftly down the hall. At his heels was his friend Ryo Sanada. Both boys' clothes and hair looked like they had just woke up--which was probably true--and there was a feeling of urgency in their stride.
A middle aged woman stood behind the desk as Cye stormed up to it and slammed his palm on top.
"Where are they?" he demanded in such a voice the nurse was obviously not expecting from the thin boy.
"Wha--wh--who is it your here for?" the nurse struggled to recover from the surprise.
"Easy Cye," Ryo said as he put a hand on his friend's shoulder. He gave the nurse a calming smile. "We got a call that Kento Rei Faun and Robyn McCarthy are here."
"Oh yes," the nurse replied as she suddenly jumped into action. "They came in about twenty-five minutes ago."
"What happened? Are they okay?" Cye asked in a more tempered voice.
The nurse flipped through some papers on her desk as she searched for information.
"The young man was unconscious when he was brought in. I think he's awake now. He had a pretty bad fall. He also had some nail punctures in his back. But he should be fine as soon as the doctors finish patching him up."
That explanation only relieved Cye for the moment.
"What about Robyn?" he pressed.
The nurse merely stood and started down the hall. "Follow me," she said.
Robyn sat tiredly as a blonde female doctor stood over her and stitched the long cut across her forehead together. It hurt a bit but Robyn was too exausted to care. She still had no energy from her earlier experience and it was also very late. Her eyes slowly wandered around the room until they happened to land on the name tag pinned to her doctor's collar. Dr. Date.
"So you're Sage's mom?" Robyn suddenly asked.
Dr. Date stopped what she was doing and smiled down at her patient.
"Why yes I am."
"I saw your name tag and you look kinda like him so I guessed you were," Robyn relayed in a monotone voice.
"Ah. So are you one of his many admirers?" Dr. Date asked with a teasing overtone.
Robyn raised an eyebrow at her in such a way that she immediately knew the answer was negative.
"So how have you come to know him them?" Sage's mother probed.
"I have some classes with him and I hang with Cye and those guys so I usually see him before and after school and during lunch."
"Really," Dr. Date mumbled as she finished up her stitching job. "Sage never tells me anything about school and such. I'm always in the dark when it comes to things like this."
A door opened and a nurse and two boys walked in. Robyn flinched on the inside when she saw that familiar patch of rusty brown hair.
"Cye," she greeted with a small "please don't get mad at me" smile.
"Robyn, are you okay?" Cye asked worriedly as he rushed to her. "I got a call from my mom that you and Kento were at the hospital. What the heck happened?"
He grabbed her upper arms, pressing them to her sides in his urgency for answers. Robyn squeaked in pain when he did this and instantly pulled out of his grip.
"Careful," Dr. Date advised gently. "She has a few bruised ribs."
"Oh gee Robyn, I'm sorry," Cye quickly apologized. "Are you going to be okay?"
"She'll be fine," Dr. Date assured them. "She'll just be a little tender for a few days."
"You're telling me," Robyn grimaced as she slid carefully off the table.
Cye just watched, not sure what to do any more and almost afraid to touch her again. Robyn walked with a slight limp over to Ryo and studied his appearance. The dark haired boy was dressed in frumpy sweats and a jacket. His hair was uncombed and there were bags under his eyes.
"I'm sorry you guys," Robyn said ruefully. "I didn't mean to make a mess of things. This is all my fault."
Ryo pushed the stray strand of hair out of his face with one hand while he put the other on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it. At least you're okay."
"Why don't you three go out and sit down," Dr. Date suggested. "You can talk about what happened and I'll go check on your other friend."
They did just that. The tired trio found a group of chairs to sit at and Robyn relayed only the main parts of what happened that night. She decidedly left out certain details but told them her best guess at to what Kento's current condition was.
"Well, now that that's settled, all I have to do is call Mom," Cye announced as he stood. He headed straight for the pay phone on the wall.
"Why didn't she come?" Robyn wondered.
"She wasn't feeling well so she called me at Ryo's house and told me to tell her what's going on when I got here," Cye explained as he dialed.
Robyn nodded and the hospital went quiet again. There was an occasional staff worker walking about with the usual hospital noises resounding through the halls. Cye's voice added to the mix as his mother answered the other end. Robyn's head drooped as she started to nod off. The side of her head made it all the way down to Ryo's shoulder before she snapped awake and once again tried to fight off the weariness. Her eyes wandered down the hall and happened upon a familiar figure heading toward them.
Ryo looked towards her as Robyn suddenly snapped to attention. She got up as if in a trance. This time there was not trace of a limp as she marched towards the approaching person.
"Robyn," Hiroshi greeted. "I heard you guys came here. I'm so glad you--"
Ryo jumped to his feet as the boy was cut off by Robyn's small but powerful fist as it collided with the side of his face. Hiroshi stumbled back in surprise and pain--almost falling over backwards.
"YOU LEFT US THERE! YOU BASTARD!" Robyn screamed at him. "YOU COWARD! YOU FREAKING COWARD!"
Upon hearing this, Cye gave his mother a hasty good-bye and hung up the phone to run to the scene. Ryo was already there, gently holding the girl back by the shoulders before she could attack Hiroshi again.
"Geeze! What the heck is the matter with you??" Hiroshi yelled back as he clutched his face.
"Kento could have died and you left us trapped in that stupid house you jerk!" Robyn spat back.
Her breathing became labored and she pulled away from Ryo's grip so she could hold her aching sides. She let out short, quick breaths as she tried to get the pain to subside. Hiroshi was going to say something to her but Cye stepped between them with a stern expression on his face.
"I think you should go," he told the other boy.
Hiroshi stared the smaller framed boy down for a minute. "Yeah," he finally relented and turned around and left. Cye stood where he was as if making sure Hiroshi wasn't going to try and sneak back in. Ryo, on the other hand, was helping Robyn sit back down.
"Ouch," Robyn choked as she finally made it to her seat. "This is soooo not fun."
"You going to be okay?" Ryo asked worriedly.