Chapter 10: Champion Hall
Hiro roamed around the compound. She had been here for a day now, her arm had been healed.
They had put her under to reset her bone on Rokuro's request. Rokuro was the man who had captured her, and now he was her mentor.
After the bone was reset, a couple healers were able to fix it.
She'd noticed that none of the kids talked to anyone except for those who had mentors. The place was called Champion Hall, and it was very luxurious. For a moment, Hiro had forgotten she was in a prison.
"Hiro! My favorite little winner!"
There went that notion.
"H-Hi." She said. "What do you want?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Nothing much. Hey, are you hungry? You can come to my quarters, and I'll get you something good..."
She gave a tense shrug. "Well... Not really. I'm not that... Hungry..."
Her stomach growled loudly, giving her away.
He laughed. "No need to be so modest! Come on..." He walked over and wrapped his arm around her, sliding far too low below her waist.
"I'll escort you there, and make you some breakfast. How does that sound...?"
She gave a small nod. "I, It sounds good."
He lead her to a nice looking room.
It had black wallpaper, with a white flower design. The bed looked really soft, all of the appliances were top class, and the table was a beautifully carved, dark wood masterpiece.
There were some shelves, and a chess set was on one of them.
He pulled out a chair, and gestured toward the table.
"Sit." He said.
She walked over to the chair, and sat down.
"Oh, and could you take your shoes off?" He asked.
She nodded, taking her shoes off, and placing them by the door. Then she sat back down.
He smiled. "And well mannered too? Wow..."
He started on breakfast in his kitchen, and came out with a decadent plate of tomato basil soup.
He gave her a grilled cheese sandwich to go with it. She looked at it hungrily.
He sat down in front of her.
"That meal was my favorite growing up, still is... You can eat, it's fine."
She dived into the soup right away, pausing to dip her sandwich in it, and take a bite.
"It's delicious!" She exclaimed.
She had been so hungry, and to be given this? What a treat!
He laughed. "Well that went fast!"
He picked up her plate, and set it in the kitchen. He pulled out the chess set, and started setting up the board.
"Do you play?" Hiro asked.
He smiled warmly. "Yeah... I'm pretty good at it I guess. I've been playing since I was seven, but you probably wouldn't believe that!"
She gaped. "No way... Me too!"
He looked at her. "R-Really!? Wow... That's incredible, I..."
He seemed to trail off.
"Well, let's get started. Black or white?"
She smiled. "Black."
He blinked. "That's interesting... They usually pick white. I always picked black, but..."
He trailed off again.
"That means you go first." Said Hiro, snapping him back.
He nodded. He moved the...
...the pawn she always started with.
She blinked in surprise, and moved the same pawn.
The game went on for two and a half hours! He finally beat her, but only by a hair.
He seemed to be unfocused, his smile warm.
"You play a lot like me, but one thing... That pawn you move that's close to your king? Don't move it. That will kill you every single time..."
He seemed to snap back into focus.
"Right. So, you will be spending six more days here. After these six days, all of the winners in this hall will face each other in another maze."
Hiro nodded, she had already figured this out. And then some.
"I figured as much." She said. "I take it they compile a Champion Hall out of say... Twenty winners. This will be the next rounds opponents. The last maze was huge though, so they had to have rounded up more winners... A bigger Hall?"
His eyes widened. "Are you sure you've never been here before?"
She shook her head. "Nope. Just figured it out I guess."
His face seemed to forcibly calm, then he smiled.
He walked over, and sat down next to me.
"Hey... You're a really smart girl..."
He leaned in, and nuzzled her neck, kissing it softly. His hands slid under her shirt, and he stroked her side.
"I like that..." He said softly.
She was shaking. She had almost completely forgotten about that...
His tongue was teasing her earlobe.
"You're trembling..." He whispered. He nipped at her ear.
"What's wrong...?"
"N-Nothing..." She breathed.
She could feel him smiling.
"Good girl..."
...
We had been following the trail for an entire day, not even stopping for rest.
It was nightfall again, and the trail was starting to go cold.
We had built some small shelters, and set up camp. A small fire was going, and Kuhn was sitting on a log farther away from it.
His face was tearstained, his expression blank.
I sat next to him.
I attempted to speak, but felt my lower lip quiver, my eyes filled with tears.
I lost my composure.
"I... I'm sorry!" I sobbed. "I should have kept an eye out! Hiro..."
"It's not your fault..." He said softly. "We all tried our best, and we're still going to try."
I sighed sadly. "She's a good girl, you've really done quite a job... When we're not playing chess, you're all she talks about."
He looked up. "She... She can play chess?"
I smiled. "Yes, and she's quite good."
He looked down. "Wow... I can't believe I didn't know that."
He teared up. "Kahn...? Am I a bad father?"
I put a hand on his shoulder. "I wouldn't have just complimented you if you were."
He leaned into me, and cried.
"If something happens to her... She's my world Kahn... My entire world. I..."
He continued to cry.
I let him. That was his daughter, and there was a chance we could lose her.
He calmed down.
"How are Linn and Karo doing?" He asked.
"Still asleep." I said. "Though they may wake up soon."
He nodded.
"I remember... Hiro... She used to have such horrible nightmares. She'd wake up screaming, and most times she'd start vomiting..."
He smiled. "Linn hates puke so much... So guess who always cleaned that mess?"
I laughed softly. "That sounds about right."
Wait... He didn't know about Hiro and that she was a medium. He had no clue about the dreams...
Eiji... He was the only one preventing them!
Should I really tell him now?
He would be upset, no matter when I tell him. Best not let it be when he's in a good mood, where I would ruin that.
"About those dreams..." I began. "I think it's time your aware of Hiro's ability."
He looked at me. "A-Ability!? What ability?"
I sighed. "I only discovered it by chance. Hiro was playing chess with a spirit, and could fully interact with him. Hiro is a medium. I can hear spirits, because I've been a spirit. Hiro is completely different, because she can both hear, and see them."
Kuhn breathed slowly.
"So if I'm correct, the dreams had spirits, right? Who was the spirit she was playing with? So you know?"
I looked down. "Actually, I do. Chihiro and Haku had a son named Eiji. He has gotten himself trapped in purgatory in order to save Hiro."
Kuhn gaped. "You mean Eiji!? The boy we just saved!?"
I nodded. "Yes, if he wouldn't have helped her, she would have fallen to her death."
Kuhn sighed. "Now that I think about it, it makes sense... He looks a lot like Haku, but a little bit like Chihiro too... It was the window. She would have fallen from there, right?"
"That's what I had suspected, and Eiji had confirmed it." I replied.
Right. The dreams...
"What's more, Eiji was the one who had stopped her bad dreams. He's in a body now, so he can't."
Kuhn's eyes widened. "That's bad. If what you're saying is true, spirits are haunting her dreams. Who are the spirits anyway!?"
I looked down. "One spirit. Our brother Kaihn has no doubt, haunted the worst of her nightmares..."
He went pale. "K-Kaihn!? No... You're joking brother... No! That's... That's insane!"
"I know, it's horrible." I said. "But there's nothing we can do until we find her."
He looked up at the sky, his stare, cold and broken.
"Hiro... Please be safe..."
...
"Hiro..."
(Wh-Who's there!?)
He laughed. "Remember me...?"
I did. (No... Not you again!)
"You know how this works... You stay sleeping soundly until I'm finished."
I tried to run. (GO AWAY!)
Straps flew at me, and bonded me to a black wall.
He appeared in front of me. He placed a finger on my chest, and the most excruciating pain had filled me. I screamed.
"Aaaawww... Already?"
He slapped me. I was filled with agony.
"You've grown WEAK!"
I whimpered in pain.
He laughed. "No matter, it just makes the game more fun! How loud can you scream...?"
I felt needles pierce my entire body. I let out an agonizing wail.
|Leave my pupil alone! She doesn't need this shit right now!|
(R-Rokuro...?)
"What are you doing here!?"
|Ending the dream.|
Hiro sat up and screamed. She tried not to, but she threw up all over the floor.
Rokuro held her hair.
"I'm... I'm sorry!" She gasped, tears spilling from her eyes.I'll
"I'll try not to! I'm sorry!"
He pulled her into a hug. She tensed for a moment, but...
He didn't. He didn't grope her this time...
"It's okay... I can see them too..." He said softly.
"You've got a pretty nasty one on your hide, right?"
She nodded shakily. "Y-Yeah..."
She burst into tears.
"Eiji was the only spirit who could stop the dreams! Now he's not a spirit anymore, and, and I'm all alone... And now that demon Kaihn can hurt me again! Eiji... He talked to me about his home, and how wonderful it was... When we were in that dark room."
Rokuro froze.
"Th-That boy... He was a spirit? So... He's not a heretic, he's the real deal..."
I sighed. "Do you believe that the mazes really got you favored by those God's of yours?"
He shook his head. "No... I don't. I... I really don't."
He let go of me. "I shouldn't be confiding in you... I should be..."
He sobbed. "I shouldn't ever touch you! They... It's a common breaking tactic. They beat it into us, all of us... We've all been through it. So many kids... I've done this to them. Hiro... I can't!"
He backed away. "I can't do this to you!"
Is this what becomes of the survivors that stay here?
This isn't someone who is favored by anyone, not even himself...
Broken...
Beaten...
Abused...
This is all that comes of it.
He was shaking. "Why would I do that...? How can you even look at me right now? This was sick... DAMMIT!"
He punched a wall.
"It's ALWAYS been SICK! ...It's not like I could ever wrap my head around it... No, that's not the point. The point is to break them, and build them up in the name of... Damn... God's I don't even believe in."
He looked at her. "You... You were just like me. Just like me."
Tears spilled out of her eyes.
"Well, we play chess the same, and we both see spirits..."
He broke down. "I wish I could believe you, save you from this hell, but..."
He stood, and his eyes widened.
"Hiro, I'll get you out. A camp was spotted not far from here, and I'm supposed to check it out... I bet that's who's looking for you."
She stood. "You can't just take me! They'll find out!"
He nodded. "Stay behind me, and be quiet. I'm going to get access to the outside, and when the gate is open, run."
"What about you?" She asked. "Don't you want to be free!?"
"Just stay behind me." He said in monotone.
They walked forward, and into the dark hall. No one was behind them.
Hiro made extra sure her steps mad no noise.
He approached the gate, and no one saw her.
"State your purpose!" Said a man. He appeared to be dressed in red and black robes.
"I am fulfilling a mission. Name, Rokuro. Purpose, the camp north east of here."
The robed man nodded. "Name, Rokuro. Purpose, the camp north east of here. Access, affirmative."
The gate opened.
Hiro ran from behind Rokuro, and made her escape.
"Look for a small camp fire!" He yelled. "Tell EVERYONE TO-!"
She heard him scream as the sounds of swords slicing flesh filled her ears.
She kept running.
Running as fast as she could...
She saw a dim light, and started screaming.
"MOM! DAD! EVERYONE! WE HAVE TO RUN!"
She saw the others dash out of their shelters as she neared the camp.
He dad ran up to her.
"HIRO!"
He lifted her up, and wrapped her in a hug.
"I love you..." He sobbed. "I love you so much!"
She burst into tears.
"I-I love you too! We need to run!"
There were footsteps nearing their location.
Kuhn set her down.
"No, we're not running." He said, standing in front of her.
"Right!" Said Nina, stepping up.
"Warriors! Stand at the ready!" An small army of soldiers marched into place.
Hiro felt a tap on the shoulder. She turned around, and Eiji hugged her.
"You're alive..." He whispered.
Hiro started to cry.
"Eiji... I'm so sorry... You got all mixed up i-in this and, and it's all my fault! And-!"
"Don't say that!" He cried. "It's my fault I didn't protect you!"
He hugged me tighter, and I could feel his tears.
She wasn't worried about her dad right now. She was more worried about what her dad would do to them... Forget the army! These guys messed with Kuhn's daughter!
They were all as good as dead!