[Y/N] started running as soon as the train stopped, not caring about the people around her. If they got in her way, she would just push them out of the way. She had no time to stop or walk around dodging them.
It had been almost two hours since she received the first message with a picture of her brother, and since then, she felt like the world was going to collapse. She didn't understand what was happening, but she knew she needed to get there as soon as possible.
Maybe she should have told the guys, but, whoever it was that had sent her those messages, he had Ryu and it was clear that he wanted something from her. Otherwise, he wouldn't have contacted her. [Y/N] had seen enough movies to know that, in these cases, there was always a threat to kill someone if the police were tipped off, and —even though HOMRA had nothing to do with the police— she wasn't going to take any chances.
From the pictures, it looked like Ryu was badly injured, and who knows what they might have done to him in the time it had taken her to reach Shizume.
She didn't know if they had sent her any more messages, since, in her haste, she had dropped her phone somewhere on the beach, and —as she hadn't wanted to waste time looking for it— she had lost it.
Almost out of breath, the young woman reached the entrance to the park and stopped briefly. Her chest ached painfully and it was hard to breathe. A prickling in her side warned her that, as soon as her muscles relaxed, her whole body would ache, so she started running again, ready to find her brother before exhaustion got the better of her.
Once inside the park, it was not as tricky as she had thought. Even though it was a very large park, her feet carried her to a small fountain next to which stood one of the two men who had been following her months ago, the day she first bumped into Mikoto.
"Where is he?", she asked, confident that he was involved.
"Aren't you going to greet us first?", the man asked mockingly. "You've kept us waiting a long time."
"I'm in no mood for bullshit. Where the hell is my brother?!", she shouted, losing her patience.
[Y/N] felt tears starting to form in her eyes. This was all too much. She had held on and kept her composure all this time, but this was beyond her. This guy seemed to be mocking her, and she didn't have time for that. She needed to see her brother right now and know that he was safe.
"Tsk, someone should teach you some manners. You're lucky we're in a hurry now... Hiroki! You can come out now", he said, looking behind the young woman's back.
[Y/N] turned around and saw how the other man who had chased her was a few meters away from her, carrying Ryu's limp and bloody body. Frightened, she held her hands to her mouth to keep from screaming, and the man from before spoke again.
"Don't worry, he just fainted. It's up to you. Give us what we want and you, and your loved brother, can go home safe and sound", he crooned, as if it were something funny.
The girl looked at him with puzzlement. What did they want from her?
"The files", explained Hiroki, as if that had to mean something to her.
"What files?"
"Don't play dumb", the other man whispered in her ear, making the girl jump. When had he ever gotten so close to her?
"We searched your entire house and they weren't anywhere. We assumed that Ryunosuke had taken them away, but apparently he hadn't", added Hiroki, who seemed to be the more reasonable of the two.
"I don't know what you are talking about. I don't know anything about any files."
"That's a pity, doll" replied the one at her back, brushing her neck with his breath. [Y/N] tried to pull away, but the man grabbed her and pinned her down. "Maybe we have to help you remember?"
As if that was a cue, the one who answered to the name Hiroki pulled out a knife and stabbed Ryu in the abdomen. [Y/N] screamed in anguish, and angry tears began to flow down her cheeks. Rage soon coursed through her veins, causing her to start kicking, screaming, and biting in order to free herself. Ryu wasn't even awake! What kind of monsters were these men?
After several minutes of struggling, [Y/N] managed to break free and ran towards her brother, without even noticing the red-haired man who was heading towards them on his skateboard and with his baseball bat ready. However, the two men did notice him, and, noticing the red clan member approaching them, they hurried away, dropping Ryu's body next to the girl without a single thought.
Yata watched as the two men fled, but he decided to check if [Y/N] was okay before following them. He had gone ahead of the others when he heard her scream, and he feared she had been hurt.
He had almost reached her when a piercing, pain-filled scream came from the throat of the young girl, who began to cry uncontrollably. Crouching down beside her, Yata understood why, and he felt his heart break at the sight of the grief of the young woman who was holding her brother's lifeless body, helplessly.
Unaware of how he was supposed to react or what he could do to comfort her, Yata sat down next to her and hugged her, making the girl rest her head on his shoulder. It hurt him too much to see her like this, and as much as he wanted to go after those guys and break all their bones, he wasn't able to leave her there alone like that.
He didn't know how much time passed before the other HOMRA clansmen arrived. It was probably just minutes, even though it seemed like hours to him, but he never let go of the young woman.
The boys stopped as they saw the scene before them. Yata was hugging [Y/N], who was crying inconsolably on his shoulder while, in her lap, rested his dead brother's head. Seeing the blood, Mikoto rushed to cover Anna's eyes and asked Tatara to take her away. He and Izumo approached the youngsters to assess the situation.
Kusanagi didn't need more than a glance to see that the young man, who appeared to have been viciously beaten, had been dead for hours. The messages had probably been sent to [Y/N] after killing him, although he couldn't figure out why.
"What happened?", he asked bluntly, as 'are you all right?' was too inopportune a question at the time.
Seeing that the young woman was unable to speak, Yata quickly explained to Izumo what he had seen when he had arrived. After listening to him, they decided to search for and follow the shady men to find out what they wanted. They were about to set off in search of them when Scepter 4 arrived, probably alerted by a passer-by hearing the screams.
Knowing that the blues would insist on asking [Y/N] about what happened, Mikoto ordered Yata to take her to HOMRA and take care of her. He was sure that the last thing that girl needed at the moment was an interrogation, so he would see to it that she was left alone.
[Y/N] was barely aware of what was going on around her. All she could see was Ryu's bloodied face. She barely knew that Yata was still hugging her because she felt his warmth surrounding her. However, it seemed too far away. She felt disconnected from her own body. She didn't even feel the tears falling down her face or the tiredness anymore. All she felt was a great emptiness inside and, faintly, the skater's arms around her.
She didn't even protest when Yata forced her to stand up and carried her in his arms. She didn't have the strength for it. She felt as if the whole world had just been destroyed.