Chapter 13 - Prison

Hours passed, and the boredom was intense. Ryu's mind was completely blank, with nothing going on in it. He called out to Eiji, "Yamamoto-san? What do you think is the day today?" Some casual conversation starters, nothing crazy, but Eiji didn't respond. Ryu called out to him again, "Yamamoto-san...?" No response.

"I-is he dead...? He thought in his mind, as Eiji was unresponsive to his calls. Ryu felt fear and sadness. Fearing the loss of the only sane person in this cell, and sadness to see the death of a person. "..." Ryu stared at Eiji's laid-down body. "You really died this time... Yamamoto-san..." Ryu mourned the loss of Eiji.

Ryu scooted closer towards Eiji and stopped went he was directly in front of him. He poked Eiji's torso, connecting with his ribs. Eiji moved and groaned. "Oh, he's still alive." Ryu felt slightly happy, "Oh, thank god, I thought you were dead." Eiji's features on his face are still obscured by the darkness, but Ryu could almost see a bit of details. Eiji rolled around, groaning from fatigue, "Urgh... I was in paradise and you woke me up, you fucking brat." Eiji turned around facing away from Ryu. Eiji went back to his deep sleep.

Ryu softly chuckled and went back to his original spot. 

...

"Now what...?" He was bored out of his mind, staring at the ceiling of the cell. He had an idea and went to the bars of his cells. He called out to the other prisoners, "Uh, how are you guys doing?" He let out an awkward smile, but no one saw it anyway. "Uh, you guys there?" Ryu added. Then a hoarse voice from a man yelled from the other side of the hall, "Shut the fuck up, kid!" Ryu frowned and went back to rest his back on the wall of his cell.

He sighed defeatedly and went back to sleep.

...

...

That image again. The image of her bloodied mother telling him to run. The demon's cackles ringing out in the background.

"Run..."

...

...

Ryu sat up instantly, his face was pale. He was sweating profusely. "Huff... Huff... Mom..." He was panting for air, his heart clenched from the emotional pain from that nightmare. He's terrified, his face slowly scrunched up, tears forming in his eyes, "Mom..." He called out for his mother. He couldn't hold back his tears and his tears flowed down from his eyes. He tried to embrace something, someone, even just a pillow could be enough, but he could only hug the air. He tightly embraced himself, curled up on the cold, hard floor. He was sobbing like a kid, but he could barely care about it anymore.

...

His eyes fluttered open, and he saw the same view again. In the same dimly lit place, the bars of the cell block the already weak light that enters the area. He sat up and stretched his arms, trying desperately to forget about that nightmare. He meditated, that's the only way he could kill time, anyway. He huffed and continued stretching. After a while, he saw Eiji's silhouette resting against the wall, and in the same voice, the old man asked Ryu, "You awake, kid?"

Ryu nodded, "Yeah, you were sleeping deeply too, Yamamoto-san." Eiji chuckled lightly and replied, "Can't blame me, kid." Ryu chuckled as well. 

It was silent for a while until Eiji spoke, "So if you don't mind me asking, why were you crying in your sleep?" He asked gently, not trying to hurt Ryu, whatever it was that hurt him.

Ryu looked down, a sad expression plastered on his face, "It's... I was just hungry... That's all." Ryu put up a strained smile. Eiji was silent for a while and he spoke, "Kid, I dunno anything about you, and I don't want to say anything that, you know, hurts you, but I just wanna say that..." He was quiet, until he added, "Kid, everything that happened in your life, happened because life is shit, got that?" That didn't make it any better and only made Ryu feel even worse. Eiji tried to make things better by adding, "I-I mean, like, life is just shit, you got me? L-like fate can be cruel sometimes, but uh, like..." Ryu just curled up into a ball. Eiji sighed and went silent, not wanting to make anything else worse.

...

After a while, a figure stood outside Ryu's cell, the silhouette tall and familiar, it was Ryota. Ryota was bringing a tray of food just like usual. The chains of the locks on the bars rattled and Ryota entered. He left the tray on the ground. He left the cell and locked it. He faced Eiji and said, "Yamamoto-sama... Some of the people still believe in you..." He spoke in a sad and concerned tone. Eiji shook his head and replied immediately, "Tell them the Yamamoto they knew is just a lazy bastard now." The blunt reply stunned Ryota and he left without saying anything else after. The yells of the other prisoners started to die down as well.

Ryu became very curious, his mind riddled with questions of Eiji's past. "Why did that soldier act like that? The people? What the hell happened..." Ryu noticed that after what Ryota said, Eiji looked a bit mad, like something was bothering him, asking him questions about his past would probably only serve to annoy him. Well, that didn't stop him from asking about it anyway.

"Yamamoto-san, what did he mean by that-"

"Shh, it was just nothing." Eiji immediately interrupted his question, not trying to answer his question.

Ryu just accepted defeat and slumped against the wall, trying to rest.

Eiji felt slightly bad for telling him off, so out of pity, he said, "Look, kid, it really doesn't involve you or anything, got that?"

Ryu nodded, though his curiosity still kept nagging him.

"What really happened to Yamamoto-san?"

He sat on the ground silently, until Eiji spoke up again, "Do you really wanna know, kid?"

Ryu's eyes widened and he nodded eagerly. Eiji chuckled softly, "Alright, listen up, because-"

His words were cut short when they felt a giant rumble outside.

"What was that...?" Ryu asked, genuinely scared.

Eiji's face was pale when he said, "I-I dunno... But I could feel... A Stone-User."

Ryu looked worried, "A Stone-User...?"

...

After a while of eerie silence, Ryu's mind was completely filled with fear, suddenly, he stopped, his face snapping, "Wait... Kazoku!" Another question popped into his mind, "Is Kazoku okay...?" His face showed worry. 

...

In the cave, Kazoku was sitting alone, banging his head with some pebbles he found, until...

*BOOM*

A giant explosion occurred.

He hurried outside to investigate.

...

"My god..."

He looked up and saw something from his nightmares.

...

In the eerie stillness of a sunlit forest, a colossal skeleton stands out against the vibrant green, its skeletal frame a jarring contrast to the serene surroundings. Sunlight filters through the canopy, casting eerie shadows through its hollow bones, making it appear even more otherworldly. The ground vibrates with each deliberate step, causing birds to scatter and animals to flee. Its empty eye sockets blaze with a malevolent light, undiminished by the daylight. The giant's bony fingers, sharp as daggers, stretch out, rustling the leaves with a haunting whisper as it prowls the forest. The chilling echo of its low, mournful moan reverberates through the woods, a sinister reminder of the restless spirits that form its towering frame.

...

One thing was certain.

No normal human could ever imagine defeating this thing.

...

...

(???), Legendary-Stone: [Gashadokuro]