What had initially been mere worry has now turned into absolute terror.
It's already 5 p.m., and as soon as he leaves school, Ren jumps on the subway heading toward downtown Ashiya.
Iris hasn't contacted him, and when he called the maid café, he found out she didn't show up for her afternoon shift.
Something's wrong — he knows it now. He plans to go to the maid café and start asking everyone who works there, searching for any clue.
He is sitting in an empty carriage, his gaze fixed on his phone screen.
He's still hoping for the message he's been waiting for, for Iris to explain that there was just an unexpected problem and that everything is fine. But second by second, his hope keeps fading away.
«I-Iris, please, answer…» Ren sobs.
Big tears patter onto the dark, unchanging screen.
His heart is pounding so hard it feels like it could burst at any moment.
When the train stops at a station, only one person gets into Ren's carriage.
A boy with hair blacker than night, striking blue eyes, and an ancient-looking pendant engraved with incomprehensible symbols around his neck.
And even though the carriage is empty, that boy sits down right next to Ren.
After a few minutes of complete silence, the boy is the one who breaks it.
«Hey, hi. Everything okay?»
«Sorry, but today I'm really not in the mood to chat,» Ren replies curtly, without even looking at him.
«I figured — it's obvious you're really down. Want to talk about it?»
«Please, leave me alone. And anyway, I'll warn you now: if you're trying to break the ice, you picked the wrong person. I'm not interested in men.»
The boy bursts out laughing.
«Honestly, I'm the last person in the world who cares about that stuff. No bragging, but I can call myself one of the biggest pussy lovers on the face of the earth.»
«Then what do you want from me?»
«I told you already. Just to chat a bit with you, Ren Toya.»
«How do you know my name? I don't think we've met.»
«Oh no, trust me, you know who I am, even if it seems you only know my name. Let me introduce myself: my name is Jace Lance.»
When he hears that name, every muscle in Ren's body instinctively tenses.
«Pretty bold of you. I was actually planning to come look for you, but it seems you saved me the trouble. More importantly, how did you find me?» Ren mutters nervously.
A malicious grin spreads across Jace's face.
«This subway goes to downtown Ashiya. It wasn't hard to guess where you were headed — it's only natural that a brother who cares would go to that maid café after an entire day with no news from his little sister.»
At that, Ren lunges without hesitation. He grabs Jace by the collar and slams him against the wall of the carriage.
«You piece of shit, what did you do to my sister?! I swear, if you hurt her, I'll—»
«Calm down, Ren. Your sister is still alive,» Jace replies, perfectly calm. «Of course, saying she's fine would be a stretch, but she attacked first — I was just defending myself. And besides… a hostage is useless if she's dead, don't you think?»
"Iris, damn it… I knew I shouldn't have told her what Leon told me! That idiot… she must have fought Jace only because she knew I planned to do it myself. She put her life at risk just to stop me from doing it. It's all my fault… I knew I should have kept her out of this too!"
«Tell me where she is. Now. Or else…»
Ren tightens his hands around Jace's neck.
«Or else, what?»
His fingers squeeze even harder.
«Or else I swear I'll rip your head off, you damn vampire!»
«I'm shaking with fear. Anyway, before threatening someone… make sure that someone isn't stronger than you.»
In an instant, Jace breaks free from the chokehold. Then he strikes Ren with a lightning-fast, brutal punch to the stomach and sends him flying against the opposite side of the carriage.
Ren collapses to the floor in pain. He wraps his arms around his stomach and spits blood from his mouth.
Jace stares at him with a mocking expression.
«Y-You damn bastard… give me back my sister!»
«If you care about seeing her again, I'll be waiting for you at exactly midnight in the Okuike hillside area. Don't worry — I'll send someone to guide you, to make sure you're on time. Because otherwise… I'll cut off one of your sister's fingers for every minute you're late.»
At that very moment, the subway stops at the downtown station. Jace prepares to get off the carriage, but before doing so, he casts one last sadistic glance at Ren.
«And don't even think about showing up with someone else. Your sister is a beautiful girl, and on principle, I don't kill beautiful girls. I'd hate to start tonight.»
Then Jace gives a small wave and disappears beyond the carriage door.
«See you tonight, my dear Ren Toya.»