Rhododendron–I am dangerous

Imma start posting character files on these chapters until I've disclosed everyone's.

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Ryuji was out hunting in the woods farther from the farm than usual. He didn't know why, but something was telling him he should be there. He got lucky and caught two decently chubby rabbits, along with some squirrels and four bird eggs he found in a nest when he was climbing a tree to retrieve one of the squirrels.

As he was heading back to the main road, he heard it.

Screaming.

Not just any screaming–he'd heard that scream before. He'd heard it when he played a game of Tag with the group(minus the little ones and Torako)and he'd tackle Rin to the ground in a last ditch effort to not be It. Rin would shriek in surprise and then laugh loudly in his ear. He'd heard it when that one feisty cow almost projectile pooped on Rin. He'd heard it when that wild horse nearly bucked Rin off the first time he'd tried to ride the equine.

Ryuji tore through the forest without a second thought. When he got closer to the screams, he slowed down. There must have been several people that were holding his boyfriend captive. Rin could take down three people at once as long as they were predictable enough. There had to be at least more than three.

Ryuji hid behind trees and bushes as he got closer to what appeared to be a campsite. He was able to find an angle where he could see not just Rin, but their other missing family member too. Kinzou and Renzou were actually out looking for Rin and Marshal, but Ryuji was glad he'd been the one to find them. He was better for coming up with plans in minimal time. Rin was the one who made plans on the spot.

Marshal was laying still on a matress at the base of a tree she was tied to by her hands. She was completely naked and had several painful-looking injuries. Her right eye was bruised, her bottom lip was split, there were bruises all over her body, but the worst bruises were around her hips. And there were several bodily fluids leaking from her onto the stained matress. She looked sad and worn out. Whenever she blinked, it took longer and longer for her to open her eyes again. It took everything in Ryuji not to just charge the men at the sight of the obviously heavily assaulted woman.

As for said men, they were all gathered around Rin, who was tied to a tree almost naked and had rope burn and cuts everywhere. One man had a small paring knife and kept cutting into Rin slowly and deliberately wherever he pleased. Rin looked like Marshal did–far beyond tears and just worn out. He looked done. Blood stained his ripped up jeans, his boots were gone, and so was his jacket and shirt. His hair was down in tangled tresses and looked more brown and red than white. Whenever he kept his eyes closed too long, the man reopened old cuts and cut them deeper.

Rin's sword laid in a pile of weapons that were left by the van parked close to the camp. Marshal's gun also laid in that same pile.

Ryuji thought about his options. He could run forward, grab a gun from the pile, and shoot all the guys surrounding his boyfriend, then free Marshal and Rin and take them back to the farm.

But he didn't know if any of those guns had ammo. Did any of them have bullets in them? Did the men keep them empty until they needed the firearms? Had they empties Marshal's shotgun when they abducted her? He could end up running in and grabbing an empty gun and then he'd just get killed and Rin and Marshal would keep on suffering until someone else found them. He didn't know if he could trust a plan like that.

But he did know that both the shotgun and the handgun he had in the car that had just enough gas to get to this forest and close to the farm were both fully loaded. And he had knives as backup.

"Just hold on a little longer, I'll get you both out." He murmured quietly as he turned tail and made his way back to the car.

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Marshal would never forget the day she watched Ryuji Suguro run into this cursed camp guns a-blazin. It was the most glorious sight she'd ever seen, even if neither she nor Rin really registered what was happening right away.

When they did, they yelled. They cheered him on and they sobbed. They sobbed in relief and joy. Their voices were hoarse from screaming and they had barely any energy to do anything, but they cheered and cried for their savior. And when he was about to put Mathias out of his misery, Rin stopped him.

"Wait!" Ryuji stopped obediently, looking at Rin in question. "Marshal gets that thing. She deserves it. Leave him be for now." He said. Marshal had never wanted to kiss a man so much in her life. She sobed for Rin too then and for the fact that she noticed neither Rin nor Ryuji were looking anywhere but her face. She was so incredibly happy their group had found her and Chelsea.

Ryuji untied Marshal first, because he knew how to treat a lady and it was what Rin would want anyways. He helped her sit up and tucked her against him gently. "It's okay. It's okay. I'm sorry it took so long. This place is pretty big." He muttered to her quietly. She laughed. "Yeah, it is. Used to love exploring it when I was little." She said. "What do you mean 'was?'" Ryuji asked seriously and she laughed harder. "You're mean!" She complained playfully. He laughed and wrapped her up in his jacket. "Here, can you stand?" He helped her stand up and she cringed. "There's some water in the car I used to get here." He promised. She nodded and leaned on the tree next to her while he untied Rin. The boy fell forward instantly.

"S-sorry. I haven't been able to feel my arms and legs in a while. Jus–Just gimme a minute." He mumbled, words slurred and barely put together in a coherent sentence. Ryuji very carefully wrapped Rin's jacket around him–his jacket and boots had been sitting in the cab of the van–and put his socks and boots back on, lacing them up for him.

Marshal dragged Mathias by his jacket to a tree. She heaved him up in an impressive show of strength for an abused, exhausted, and half-starved 5'5 woman, and shoved a knife into both of his shoulders. She then shoved a knife in each foot. She cut open his pants and straight up castrated the man, cutting off his whole package. Rin and Ryuji cringed away. Then, just in case his screams didn't attract the dead,  Marshal got into the van, turned it on, and honked the horn several times before the car sputtered out of gas.

They didn't leave until they heard shuffling and groaning. Mathias begged for them to save him, saying he was sorry and not ready to die over and over again. The words fell on deaf ears.

Ryuji managed to maneuver Rin onto his back like a piggy back ride and then got Marshal into his arms bridal- style. He carried them to the car without complaint and both boys turned away while Marshal cleaned herself up with the water bottles she'd been given.

Then they rode most of the way to the farm in the janky car and Ryuji carried them the rest of the way home.

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Chelsea tended to her twin while Ryuji and Izumo tended to Rin once they'd returned.

Marshal used a rag and soap to wash off. She washed her hair and then spent two hours in the bathroom cutting it by candlelight. She ended up using a razor and scissors to give herself a clean undercut. She left the hair at her temples and up.

"Better?" Chelsea asked from the doorway. "That asshole liked to grab me by the hair and mount me like some bitch. I cut off all the hair he touched." She responded fiercely. Chelsea smiled approvingly. "That's my Marshal." She said fondly, opening her arms. Marshal put down the scissors and rushed into them.

"I don't have any tears left to cry, Chelsea." She choked out. "That's okay. You don't drink enough water." Chelsea replied. Marshal let out a wet laugh at the inside joke and let her sister pull her into her bed and pull the covers over them. "I'll be the strong one for now. You just go to sleep, okay?" Chelsea suggested. She began singing all the songs she remembered listening to as a little girl with her sister and their parents in the car on the way to swim in the local lake during Summer.

Taylor Swift would always hold a special place in their hearts. Chelsea started with Mine and went through the whole Sparks Fly album until Marshal was finally sleeping next to her. Chelsea snickered at the fact that her twin had stayed awake until Mean. She'd made herself stay awake until her favorite song on the album, sang along with it, then fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Izumo and Ryuji helped Rin wash off in the basin Chelsea had filled with water the day before in case they found Rin and Marshal. His hair was finally back to it's bright white color, silky locks laying across his shoulders and down his back. There wasn't much they could do for the rope burn and cuts but clean them and hope they didn't get infected.

Rin couldn't have a blanket on because of the very irritated rope burn, so the triad elected to just sleep with no blanket. Rin couldn't cuddle either, but he held Ryuji and Izumo's hands the whole night, falling asleep to Chelsea's faint singing from the room across the hallway.

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I used myself as a base for Marshal's character and I put some particular references to my own life in her memories, though she is a totally different person from me. Chelsea is modeled after my bestest friend in the world that I grew up with(she was my only friend growing up), and people always asked us if we were twins because we looked alike.

These characters are totally different people than my friend and I, but it is nice referencing parts of my life in a story that people enjoy and seeing how they react to the characters.