Under the Right Circumstances…
Chapter 5: …and in the End…
Fuuko breathed a sigh of relief. She'd finally reached the outer wall of the maze. All she had to do now was follow it and she'd be out of here in no time. It was eerie seeing nothing except countless reflections of yourself. Not that that was getting to her of course, Fuuko thought. She wasn't, after all, someone who was spooked easily.
Fuuko laughed out loud and picked up her pace. She felt much better after that. Hearing something else besides the thumping of her footsteps was a comfort. Maybe she should sing something to pass the time. Err, maybe not.
She stopped suddenly and cocked her head to one side. 'What the hell…?' Fuuko thought. She could've sworn that she'd just heard Domon's voice. She shook her head. Now she was hearing things. Why on earth would Domon be…
"WHERE ARE YOU, YOU BRAT?!!"
Fuuko jumped. There was no mistake. That was definitely her big friend's voice. She turned around in time to see her long-time friend hurtling towards her at full speed.
"FUUKO?!" Domon exclaimed, stopping mid-stride so suddenly that he tripped and somersaulted through the air a couple of times before landing on his head.
"Domon!" An anxious Fuuko ran to his still form, convinced no-one could have survived such an experience.
She shouldn't have bothered. Her mohawked classmate leapt to his feet immediately as if nothing had happened. "Fuuko! (*joy*)" was all he said.
Fuuko scowled, p.o.'d that he had made her worry for nothing. "Domon, you're bleeding," she said through clenched teeth as she pointed to the torrent of blood gushing out of a cut of his forehead.
"Ah, I can endure anything for my Fuuko (*heart*)," Domon said happily as he reached for her, arms flung out.
"And just who is your Fuuko?" a scowling fuujin-master said, batting him away. "Let's just focus on getting out of here first, okay?"
"Okay, Fuuko." Domon replied obediently, "Oh and by the way, have you seen the little brat who took my fairy floss?"
"No," Fuuko said through gritted teeth. Trust Domon to think about food at a time like this. Then she stopped as a thought struck her. "In fact," she said slowly, "I haven't seen anyone else in here at all except for…" she trailed off, frowning. "Domon, have you seen Re…" Fuuko shrieked mid-sentence as an arm caught her around her waist.
"Don't worry Fuuko darling," Domon said, nuzzling his face against her shoulder, "I'm here with you…"
"Cut it out, Domon! You're getting blood on my favourite shirt!"
"…and we can survive because we're here together. Even if we're doomed to be trapped in here forever." The big man didn't sound too doomed about that last prospect, however.
"Domon!" Fuuko yelled, elbowing her friend in the face, "Would you be serious for once?!"
"But I am serious," Domon said, hurt. "I've always been se…"
Fuuko frowned as a funny look came over the big man's face. "Domon, are you alright?" she asked. The big man did not reply as he suddenly collapsed on the ground.
"Domon!" Fuuko knelt beside her friend. To her relief, she could find nothing wrong with the big man except that he had lost a significant amount of blood. "You big lug!" Fuuko said angrily, wiping away unshed tears from her eyes, "Always trying to put on a brave face!" (I think she missed the irony in that one).
Fuuko tore a strip from her shirt and tied a makeshift bandage around Domon's head. He'd be fine, she thought. After all, he'd had way worse injuries inflicted on him in the past. Fuuko smiled affectionately. "I'll be back for you after I find my way out, okay Domon?" she said aloud. The only reply she got was a string of snores. Fuuko's smile was immediately replaced by a scowl. Was the idiot unconscious or sleeping?!
'Honestly!' she thought as she continued on her way, 'Domon's never going to change.' But, then again, that was what she liked about her big friend. Although she'd like it better if he'd just let up on the courting thing. Fuuko was honestly flattered by the fact that Domon had a little crush on her, but it was getting to an uncomfortable stage now.
However, at the moment there was something else bothering her as well. Something completely different. The only two people she had run into so far were the two she'd least expect to run into in a place like this. Who was next? Mikagami? Fuuko smirked. She hated to admit it, but the ensui-wielder would be a welcome sight in this type of situation. Anyhow, either this was all a coincidence or… something else.
'Well,' Fuuko thought, frowning, 'first I get out and get help for Domon. Then I'm going to get to the bottom of this!'
******
Unbeknownst to Fuuko, Domon had fallen asleep, not unconscious as she'd initially feared, as a result of the physical exertion he had applied in chasing after Kenji. And it wasn't a long sleep either. In fact, he woke up only half a minute after Fuuko's departure.
"Fuu…?" he said as he stood up, rejuvenated. "FUUKO?!"
There was no reply from his beloved. Domon sighed. Why did Fuuko always run away from him? After all, what was not to like? Domon thought as he admired his profile in the mirror before him. The gorgeous bronze-tanned skin, the impressively-muscled forearms and thighs, that irresistible pearly-white smile…
"Hey, looking good," Domon grinned as he flexed his biceps. "Wait a sec…" the big man frowned as he focussed on the strip of green cloth around his forehead. "Isn't that…?"
Domon clapped a hand to his mouth. "Fuuko… you do care!" he yelled joyfully and ran forth with renewed enthusiasm. The big man didn't exactly know where he was going, as he weaved his way left and right through the mirror passages – he only had one thing in mind: find Fuuko.
He was so blinded with joy that when he finally caught sight of a figure, he tore towards it, arms outstretched. "I'm here, babyyy!" he yelled, taking his beloved in his arms.
"D-domon!!"
"I know," Domon sobbed, "I feel the same way too."
"Domon! Let me go!"
"I can't, my love! I won't! We'll die together!"
"What the…? It's me, you idiot!!"
"Huh?" Domon blinked away his tears to find a struggling flame-master in his arms. "RECCA?!!" he shrieked, dropping his friend immediately.
"Just who else did you think I was!" Recca yelled, wild-eyed from his ordeal. He'd never been so scared in his entire life.
"I… have you seen Fuuko?" Domon said, downcast.
"Hell, no! I can't believe you…" Recca shuddered. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"That's right!" Domon thumped a fist on his hand as he remembered why he was here in the first place, "My fairy floss!"
"Your fairy…" Recca repeated slowly as he looked at Domon as if he was crazy. He shook his head. Maybe he was the one going crazy. Man, he had to get out of this place! "Do you have any idea how to get out of here?"
Domon thought long and hard. Then he came up with his best suggestion, "Walk?"
Recca sighed frustratedly. Honestly! The guy was a living, breathing epitome of 'all brawn and no brains'. No help whatsoev…
Recca mouth fell open as something dawned on him. Of course! It had been so obvious! "I have an idea," he said.
******
"Wow, your neechan's one smart chick, thinking of following the wall," Ryousuke said admiringly as he traced the path of the green dot with a finger.
Ganko paused in the middle of her scribbling and looked up. "Yeah, I know," she said proudly.
"That Mikagami guy's doing it too," Kenji remarked, his eyes following the blue dot.
Ganko shrugged. "Mikagami-niichan's a genius, what else do you expect?"
"I s'pose so… hey, where'd your Mum go?"
"Poor Mum, she feels so guilty about doing this. She left right after you did. Said she wanted to look around."
"Hee, I can just imagine your mum on that merry-go-round."
"What did you say?"
"Uh, nothing…"
"You said you could just imagine her on that merry-go-round!"
"Uh, no I didn't."
"Yeah, you did!"
"W-wait, Morikawa!"
Ryousuke took no notice of the scuffle. His eyes were fixed on a short-haired girl on the monitors before him. Even in black-and-white, determination and purpose radiated from her through the screen. "Yup," Ryousuke said softly, almost longingly, "she's really special." Then he reverted to his normal, goofy self, and sighed mockingly, "Oh well, a guy like me always falls for the cute girls." He was about to turn to the two kids behind him when something on one of the monitors caught his eye.
Ganko was in midst of dealing the finishing punch when Ryousuke exclaimed aloud. Kenji, though a bit groggy, looked up as well. "What?" they both asked.
"The gorilla man-boy and the spiky-haired dude!" Ryousuke choked and pointed to one of the screens.
The two kids jumped to his side and followed his trembling finger. Having failed to think up of a tactful way of getting out, Recca and Domon had resorted to the only other way they were familiar with.
"I should've expected this," Ganko sweatdropped.
"Wow, I don't think anyone's ever thought of getting out of a maze that way before," Kenji said, wide-eyed, "I'm not sure if they're crazy or just dumb."
[ 'How about both,' Ganko thought. ]
"Don't sound so admiring then," the brown-haired technician spluttered. "But that's not what I'm worried about." Then without explanation, he stood up and started herding the two children out.
"What is it?" Kenji asked anxiously. He'd never seen the older boy so grim.
As if on cue, the ground started to shake, prompting the three to reach out for something to hold on to.
"What was that?!" Ganko yelled.
"Heh," Ryousuke looked abashed, "uh, you remember when I told you kiddies that this place was closed down despite having cameras installed? Well, um, the reason why they had to close it down was because… thecomplexdidn'tpassthesafetytests."
"What?!" Ganko and Kenji exclaimed in unison.
"Theykindasortasaidtheplacewasunsafe."
"What?!"
Ryousuke looked pained. "You want me to repeat that?"
"No, you idiot!" The two yelled at him, "Why didn't you tell us this earlier?!"
"Well," Ryousuke twiddled his thumbs, "I didn't think your two friends would decide to punch their way through… heh."
The ground shook again, this time more violently, and debris started to fall from the ceiling. "Look this is no time to argue," Ryousuke said seriously, "we have to get out of here."
"No!" Ganko yelled, "I'm not leaving without Fuuko-neechan!"
"We can't help her, little lady," Ryousuke said sorrowfully, but firmly, "we can only hope that she and the others get out in time."
"No!"
Kenji grasped the little puppetmaster's arm tightly and steered her towards the exit. "Ryousuke's right," the little boy said, "we have to get out first."
"No!" Ganko began hitting her classmate with her fists, "Let go!"
"Ganko," Kenji didn't even flinch as one of her wild punches caught him on the face, "neechan's special, remember? She always finds a way out."
Ganko looked back at a running Fuuko on one of the monitors and sighed in defeat. "Yeah," she whispered.
'I hope you're right…'
******
Fuuko fell to the ground as the place started shaking again. What on earth was going on? The place looked like it was about to collapse. But she knew she was close to the exit. She could feel it. Fuuko was about to sprint for it when she caught herself. Domon! He could still be lying where she left him, out cold. And what about Ganko, or her mum? They could still be wandering around, frightened that the ceiling could come down on them any minute.
Fuuko turned 180 degrees and ran as fast as she could back the way she came. She had no idea where they were, and without her fuujin, Fuuko realised that she was just as vulnerable as they were. But she couldn't just leave her family, or her friend, to die.
Fuuko ran, for how long she didn't know, but had to stop when she came to a section where the wall had collapsed and there was no way through.
"No!" Fuuko fell to her knees, ignoring the shards of glass piercing her through the flimsy cloth of her pants. "Domon! Mum! Gankooo!"
There was an ominous groan overhead as a section of the ceiling began to give way. Fuuko lunged sideways desperately, but wasn't quick enough. Something caught the back of her head and Fuuko's world plunged in darkness.
******
Mikagami frowned. What was he doing here? There was nothing here for him. Certainly nothing that he was looking for… Not, of course, that he'd expected to find anything. No, the almighty Mikagami Tokiya never believed in anything as petty as fortunes.
The ensui-wielder was thinking up of the 34th unpleasant thing he'd do to a certain gangly so-called fortune-teller when the first rumblings occurred. "What…?" It sounded like there was a thunderstorm outside. But when the ground shook more violently for the second time, Mikagami needed no further warning. There wasn't something going on outside, something was going on inside the building. Mikagami didn't know what exactly, but he wasn't going to hang around to find out.
'It must be an ambush!' Mikagami thought furiously, 'I knew Meguri Kyoza was behind this somehow! Sensei…'
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. He could hear something… and it sounded like a voice - a very familiar voice.
Mikagami sprinted forward. It couldn't be! It just wasn't possible! But even despite this logic, a long-suffering Mikagami still hoped…
It wasn't long before the long-haired boy found his path blocked. Impatiently, Mikagami took out what looked like a very short dagger and the water-bottle that he always had with him. He uncapped the bottle and poured the liquid on the knife. Instead of dripping off onto the ground, the water froze around it, forming a long, elegant blade.
"Ensui," Mikagami said softly, "help me clear a way through the debris. TSURANARU HEBI!"
A snake made from icicles sped from his blade and through the obstruction before him, clearing a path large enough for Mikagami to step through. Swallowing nervously, he looked around. His heart jumped when he saw a crumpled form lying at one side, covered in white dust. Mikagami ran towards her and gingerly picked her up in his arms. With his heart thumping wildly, he gently wiped the dust from her face with a sleeve. He looked at the face before him and couldn't contain a strangled sob. It was a face he knew, but not the face he had hoped.
'Of course it wouldn't be,' Mikagami thought self-mockingly, 'did you really expect…?'
A large fragment from the ceiling hit the ground beside Mikagami, narrowly missing him. That brought the ensui-wielder back to the situation at hand. He sped forward grim-faced. How could he lose controls of his emotions like that? Mifuyu was dead. It'd happened right before his eyes. And yet, he still harboured the hope that she was still alive, somehow…
Mikagami doubled his pace, not hampered at all by the load of the fuujin-wielder, who was surprisingly light. When he burst through the exit and into the warm sunlight, Mikagami ran a safe distance away from the building before coming to a stop. Then he collapsed to his knees on the grass, holding his team-mate close to him.
He looked down at her and was disturbed to find dried blood on her shirt and pants. "Kirisawa," he said urgently, gently shaking the girl, "wake up."
'Please wake up, please…'
Fuuko stirred. "Dad…" she murmured before slowly opening her eyes. She smiled when she saw Mikagami. "I knew I'd see you next."
Mikagami frowned. What was she talking about?
"This has to all be a dream, right? After all, what are the chances of running into you three at the same place on the same day?"
"Fuuko, what…?"
"Shhhh…" To the older boy's disbelief, she placed a finger on his lips. "It's my dream and I don't want you to talk at the moment. You know, being rescued by my knight in shining armour who turns out to be Mi-chan makes for a really twisted dream. But you know what? I'm going to enjoy it. So…" the girl snuggled closer to the startled boy, hooking her arms around his neck and burying her face in his chest, "…please take me home."
To say that Mikagami was speechless would be the greatest understatement of the year (and many years to come). Not knowing what else to do, he picked her up and did as she wished. Well… sort of. He didn't exactly carry her to her doorstep (Mikagami knew that he'd die of exhaustion before he'd make it out of the amusement park, and besides, he didn't even know where she lived). But he did, at least, bring her to the front of the remains of the building, where he found an anxious Ganko, Kenji and Ryousuke waiting. There he carefully set down Fuuko, who'd once again lapsed into unconsciousness, before the amazed trio.
"Mikagami-niichan!" Ganko exclaimed, "Is Fuuko alright?"
"I guess so," the teenager replied and quickly made his exit before anyone questioned him further. As he walked away, Mikagami tried to smirk. "As if she'd let something like that kill her, that loudmouthed tomboy," he said aloud to himself. But no matter what he said, he could still picture her smile in his mind. He could still feel the press of her finger on his lips…
Mikagami shook his head vehemently and stuffed his hands in his pockets. What on earth was he thinking?! Mikagami scowled. This was all his fault!
And for the rest of the evening and certainly not for the first time that day, all Mikagami Tokiya thought about was this: getting his hands on a certain fortune-teller…
******
"Fuuko?"
The first thing Fuuko saw when she opened her eyes was an anxious little face peering down at her. "Ganko!" she said, leaping up, "You're safe!"
"Uh, should you be getting up like that, neechan?" Kenji asked, looking pointedly at the older girl's blood-caked clothes.
"Kenji, is it?" Fuuko said as she turned to him, "What are you doing here?"
"Um…"
"Oh, his brother works here." Ryousuke jumped in, grinning, "Of course, so do I. A technician, ya know. May I introduce myself? I'm…" The youth found himself addressing empty air as the three had begun walking away, the two nine-year-olds supporting the fuujin-wielder in spite of her protests.
"Weird guy," he heard Fuuko say.
"Yeah, we know…"
Ryousuke's shoulders slumped. "Ah well, time for my exit. Or not. Hey, do I get the next chapter? Maybe, you know, a chapter on Ryousuke's past. Hey! Hey, don't cut me o…"
******
"We should wait here for Mum," Ganko said as they stopped at what used to be the mirror house exit.
"Hey, this place looks familiar," Fuuko frowned, "I think I had a dream here… "
Ganko and Kenji looked at each other, puzzled. "What dream?"
"Oh, it was really weird," Fuuko replied with a smile, "because Mikagami was in it."
"Uh, are you sure you dreamt that?" Kenji said.
"Yeah," agreed Ganko, "Mikagami-niichan did rescue you after all."
Fuuko's jaw dropped. "You mean… it wasn't a dream?!" she practically shrieked. "No! NO!!"
Ganko and Kenji stared at her curiously as she turned a bright shade of red. "Just what exactly did you do?" Ganko asked.
"How can this be? I'm ruined!" Fuuko rambled aloud, unmindful of the other two. "What's he going to think of me now? Why didn't that idiot say something?!" Then the teenager groaned miserably, "I bet he's somewhere laughing at me, that popsicle! This is the most embarrassing moment of my life!"
Kenji sweatdropped as Ganko muttered, "I'm pretty embarrassed myself."
"MIKAGAMI! YOU"RE DEAD MEAT!!!"
******
Meanwhile, not so very far away… a tired Mikagami stopped as a sudden wave of dread swept through him. He blinked, perplexed. What the hell was that?
******
"Hey, we're home."
Fuuko started and looked up to see Hikaru and Ganko peering at her anxiously as they held the car door open for her.
"What's wrong?" Hikaru asked.
"We-ell…" Fuuko replied slowly as she got out, "I just have this funny feeling that I'm forgetting something."
The three females stood on the driveway, deep in thought. After a minute or so:
"Ah, it's probably nothing," Fuuko said, shrugging, "hey, how 'bout some chocolate cake, Mum…?"
Little did she know…
******
"This is all your fault!"
"What?!"
"Your fault! Your! Fault!"
"You're the one who said: 'Let's punch through the wall'! Gee, great idea Hanabishi!"
"Well, you didn't say anything, did you?"
There was silence as Domon tried to think up a reply. But his head was starting to hurt so he let it go. This time. "My arms are getting tired," he whimpered.
"Stop being such a wimp, Domon." Recca said, annoyed, "If you stop holding the ceiling up, the whole thing's gonna come down on us."
"How long do I have to keep doing this?" the big man asked, "I've got a crick in my neck."
"I told ya, someone's gotta come along sooner or later."
"Are you sure?"
"'Course, moron!"
Silence.
"Recca, my back is itchy."
"Wha…? Stop complaining you big idiot!"
"But… I'm gonna drop this."
"Ignore it then!"
"*Whimper* I can't…"
"Alright, alright! *Shudder* I… guess I'll scratch. Ugh! You'd better not tell anyone about this…"
And so it went on until 4 hours later, when the rescue squad arrived to pull the two wild-eyed boys out from the wreckage.
Author's note: I know that was a bit abrupt, sorry. But I did lie. This isn't the last chapter. Well, it kinda is. This turned out longer than I expected, so I'm just ending this chapter here. Next one's going to be the epilogue, so it's kind of another chapter (a very short one)… or not, however you see it. Enough rambling. Sorry this took so long. Had to tackle assignments, writer's block… you know, the usual. Thanks for taking the time to r&r guys. One more to go…