What?
The truck rattled beneath them.
'Let's go! The master plan actually worked.'
'No, of course it did. There's a reason it's called a "master" plan.'
Naoki looked around.
There were three other kids, not including Ren who was also with him.
One was crying in the corner, curled into a ball with his knees pulled against his face.
Another was sleeping... or maybe she'd passed out?
The last one was doing that dramatic stare-at-the-floor thing.
All of them looked frail, like kids from the slums usually did.
'Except for the one staring at the floor... fata-'
Chubby. Naoki meant to think that he was chubby.
Ren sat beside him.
Quiet.
Very quiet.
'He's been like that for a while. That's unusual.'
'Back then he used to cry and throw tantrums all the time. Oh, how fast they grow up.'
Naoki decided to leave him alone for now. Instead, he scooted toward the barred window.
'So this is what the inside of a kidnapping truck looks like.'
It wasn't nearly as interesting as he'd imagined.
Just four steel walls surrounding them from every direction.
No windows.
No way to tell where they were.
The only thing connecting them to the outside world was a small opening near the front of the truck.
It was a window.
Just big enough to see three bald heads peeking out, definitely belonging to the kidnappers.
You could also see the outside from here, if you looked past all the heads.
'Kind of disappointing.'
On the other side, the kidnappers sat facing forward, completely ignoring the children in the back.
'Well... not for long.'
"Hey."
Silence.
"Hey!"
Still nothing.
"Hey!"
"What?" a voice finally responded from the front.
Naoki grinned.
"Oh, nice. You guys aren't deaf after all."
"Just stop talking, kid."
"How long have you been kidnapping people?"
"Shut up."
"Do you have a hideout?"
"Be quiet."
"How many people work for you?"
"Kid."
"What?"
"Stop talking or I'll bash your skull in."
"... Alright, alright."
A brief pause.
"One more question."
"No."
"Why'd it take you guys so long to kidnap me?"
As expected, there was no answer.
Or so Naoki thought.
"We were on break."
"..."
He blinked twice.
"You were what?"
"On break."
"No way."
"Can somebody stop answering him?" another voice snapped.
"I was trying to shut that mouth of his!"
"I thought you were gonna bash his skull in?"
While the kidnappers argued among themselves, Naoki had his own train of thoughts.
'Work-life balance? From kidnappers? Honestly, that's kind of respectable.'
'No, they're kidnappers. Very evil men. I shouldn't respect them.'
'... Still.'
"Do kidnappers get vacation days too?"
"SHUT UP!"
Naoki leaned back as one of the kidnappers slammed the small window shut.
Click.
It sounded like they locked it too.
Well, his important interview was over anyway, so it didn't really matter.
Besides, the little hatch covering the window had a glass panel in it.
He could still make out what was happening at the front of the truck.
More importantly, he'd be able to tell when they were getting close to their destination.
'They're surprisingly friendly.'
'Alright, step one is done. Now all I have to do is wait until we get to the church... then wait again for backup.'
'...'
'Now that I think about it, most of my plan is just waiting and hoping everything goes well.'
This is the part where Naoki realizes that it's less of a plan and more of a gamble.
'No, no way. The important thing is I can help during the hostage situation that'll inevitably happen.'
'Hopefully.'
The truck bounced over another pothole.
The roads really weren't in great shape.
The crying kid sniffled louder.
The sleeping one, allegedly, didn't move.
The chubby one still hadn't looked up from the floor.
And Ren remained beside him.
Quiet.
Not saying a word.
'Seriously... what's with him?'
Naoki turned slightly.
"Hey. Ren."
No response.
"..."
He frowned.
"You planning on becoming a statue or something?"
Ren finally looked over. He stared at Naoki for a moment
He was snickering, laughing at his own little joke.
"... You're smiling."
"Yeah."
"... Shouldn't we be panicking?"
"Why?"
"... Because we're kidnapped?"
Naoki blinked.
"Oh."
He glanced around the truck. The steel walls and the locked rear doors. Looked more oppressive than ever.
"I guess. But the plan worked!"
Ren didn't answer straight away. He just kept staring at Naoki, like he was waiting for him to laugh and admit it was all a joke.
Instead, Naoki smiled back.
"... A-are we going to be fine?"
"Well, of course we are? Come on man, you can trust me."
Ren stayed silent.
The truck rolled over another bump.
Naoki felt as if he shouldn't say anything more as well.
Neither of them spoke.
***
"N-Naoki?"
Finally, Ren spoke once more.
"Yeah?"
"A-are we gonna be okay?"
Naoki nodded without a second thought.
"What kind of question is that? Of course we are."
Ren looked at him. A light glow forming in his eyes, was it hope?
"Really?"
"Of course. Once we get to the church, everything should start falling into place."
"The church?"
"Yep. My backup's gonna show up sooner or later. Then the kidnappers will be busy dealing with them, and that's when I help out."
Ren sat quietly for a moment, trying to picture it.
"W-what if... they don't go to the church?"
"They will."
"How do you know that?"
"Because that's where they always take the kids."
"W-what? No, even still. What if your backup doesn't come?"
"They will."
"B-but what if they don't?"
"They will."
Ren's eyes lingered on Naoki for a moment, waiting for him to say he was only joking.
In the end, he never said anything more.
"O-okay..."
His gaze slowly dropped to the floor.
A few more moments passed before he spoke again.
Ren lowered his head.
His grip around his sleeves tightened a little more.
"W-what if... the kidnappers figure out your plan?"
Naoki stared at him for a second.
'...'
'He's really determined to poke holes in this thing, huh.'
'Actually...'
'Ain't the kidnappers hearing this right now?'
He slowly looked towards the barred window.
Then back at Ren.
"Shhhhhh."
"They're gonna figure it out if you keep talking about it so loudly."
Ren froze.
"..."
"Oh."
"Well, whatever. They probably can't hear us from the other side anyway. The window's shut and all."
'Now that I think about it...'
'We haven't suddenly turned or hit a bump in a while.'
The slums had roads that were practically falling apart.
The van had been swerving constantly, either to avoid potholes or whatever else was in the way.
And every few seconds it'd bounce hard enough to make everyone inside shift around.
But that had stopped for quite a while.
So curiously, Naoki decided to check.
He leaned towards the small window, trying to peek outside and figure out where they were.
Clear skies.
Beautiful green trees lined the side of the road.
And the road itself... it was smooth.
"... What?"
They were...
Out of the slums.
And back into another part of the outskirts.
This one was completely different.
Lush greenery.
Open fields.
Scenery that actually looked... nice.
"No..."
"No... no..."
Bang.
Bang.
Bang.
Naoki slammed his fist against the glass window, trying to get the kidnappers' attention.
"Hey! Where are we going?!"
He raised his fist again.
But before it hit the glass, another thing caught his attention.
A small laugh escaped from Ren.
"Heh..."
Naoki turned his head.
"Wha-"
Ren laughed again.
A little louder this time.
"Hahaha haAa..."
It continued.
"Haha..."
Naoki frowned.
"... Ren?"
The laughter kept going.
"Haha..."
"Hahaha..."
"Hahahahaha..."
'... Is he okay?'
Then it suddenly got caught in Ren's throat.
His smile disappeared as a shaky breath escaped him.
"I..."
His voice cracked.
"I... hic."
Without warning, tears rolled down his face.
"I don't want to die..."
Naoki's eyes widened.
"Whoa, hey-"
"I don't want to die!"
Ren's breathing became uneven.
His words tumbled out between sobs.
"I-I don't want to disappear!"
"I don't want to stay here!"
"I want to go home!"
Naoki instinctively reached out.
"Hey, calm down-"
*Slap
Ren smacked his hand away.
"No!"
"You said we'd be okay!"
"I believed you!"
"You kept talking about your stupid plan!"
"You said everything would be fine!"
Naoki opened his mouth.
"W-what? Did I say som-"
"You got us kidnapped!"
"You!"
"..."
His voice finally gave out.
Ren dropped to the floor of the truck.
He pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms.
"I-hic I should've never met you."
The sobbing didn't stop.
"I hate this..."
It only got quieter, along with his voice.
"..."
Naoki stared at him.
His hand was still hanging in the air where Ren had slapped it away.
He never said anything more.
He couldn't.