Volume 2: Chapter 6: Hunter or Hunted VI

{Tatsumi's Perspective}

"Firstly, allow me to thank you all for coming here on such notice. We had not expect for help to arrive so soon, since we had just posted this request a few days ago." the speaker started off.

The speaker had wavy brown hair. He exudes a playful demeanor, accompanied by his playful smirk etched firmly on his face. Somehow I envision him to be great friends with Joker. His bangs frames his entire face, with some gathered in between his eyebrows. He would have struck me as a normal person, if it wasn't for the bandages. Bandages were wrapped around his forehead, with some covering his right eye. His entire right hand, including his fingers were covered in bandages.

Is he going to okay, with all those bandages wrapped around him? Shouldn't he be resting or something?

Then again, he knows his body best, so I guess I was worrying too much.

"I wish we could have met during different times, since this mission may very well be the last mission for some of us here." As he speak, his eyes were no longer contained the initial playfulness I had seen in them. It had turned dark, and his tone turned solemn. "Allow me to introduce myself. You can call me Oda. I am the so-called leader of this place." I could hear some groans from his comrades as these words left his mouth. "The main reason we have called you to this city, requesting for your help is mainly due to a certain plot we have uncovered recently. As many of you know, the Revolutionary Army consists of various generals and important figures that had once belonged to the Empire, which they are currently attempting to overthrow. Their reason should be pretty well-known, destroying the corrupt rule of the Emperor, or more specifically Honest. They have gather allies from all the lands, most of which are the direct victims of the tyrannical rule. Of course, they have been unable to cripple the forces of the Empire severely due to the existence of some key figures serving the Empire. It could be said that recently they have finally found a way to cripple the Empire." I could see some of the people in the room raising their brows, signalling their increased interest on the subject.

"A few days ago, some Revolutionary spies that had been captured by some of our people stationed here has revealed some very interesting intel. After using persuasive methods, they had spilled almost all of their plans. One of which has caught my attention and thus I had issued a request for help. Of course, I won't force you into this mission. If any of you wish to opt out, I won't deny you that and allow you to go off without any objections." He paused. I could hear some discussions, but none made a move to leave.

I could see him smile, before he continued his speech.

"The Revolutionary Army has set their eyes on this city. As I'm sure you know, this city is home to a cavern filled with danger beasts located just underneath it. It attracts people, mainly adventurers. These adventurers would travel into the cavern underground every single day. The loot they receive as the reward for slaying the monsters, as well as the ores and minerals they find would be sold to the various merchant and craftsman aboveground. These things would be used to make different equipments or rare items and would be either sold to the adventurers again or to travelers who came into the city for leisure purposes. Like that poison you bought earlier," He pointed to me. "or that sword you bought just now." He pointed to someone else in the room.

Well, as you can probably guess, all of us were suddenly wary of him. How did-

"I know everything." He answered with that smirk of his, as if answering our question that we had yet to ask. There is an air of distrust floating about the occupants in the room.

"Just kidding!" He remarked jovially before he chuckled. Just like that, the tensed atmosphere before was completely removed and replaced. I could see some of his comrades shaking their heads, as if they were already used to his antics.

I am starting to think that the reason for his injures were more from friendly fires rather than from enemies after his life. I was kind of annoyed, and feel like beating him up. However, I was unable to convert these thoughts into action. Not because I know I am being rude doing so, nor because I would be beaten up by his comrades instead. I couldn't explain what it was either. It was just a gut feeling, maybe, that something bad would happen to me if I were to ever harm him.

Whatever that was, I decide to focus on other issues for now.

"Now back to what I was saying. So these items are being bought, allowing businesses to earn their income and make large profits. Most of the items sold here are considered rare if you were to bring to another city, yet it is found in abundance here. Still, that doesn't change the price of the good. The price of goods here is basically the price of it if bought in another city. Then another question pops up. How does the rulers of this city earn money. Where does the income of the city come from?" He looked around, as if waiting for answers from us.

"The answer is taxes. The rulers would tax money from businesses. Of course, instead of the usual taxing system that the rulers of other city's would employ, which is the annual tax collected once a year, the rulers of this city also includes a different method of taxation. The amount they tax is based on the total amount of sales. For example, businesses that has a lot of customers would tend to be taxed more compared to businesses that has less customers. The tax businesses has to give to the rulers is usually a portion of their total revenue earned. Some people would be sent to the various businesses at the end of every month to collect the tax money. So does everyone understand how this works?" Again, he stopped. He looked around for any questions.

"Now for the real question everyone has in their minds. What are the Revolutionary Army's motives for targeting this place. Given the fact that this city contributes the most to the Empire's wealth annually, one would naturally assume that they would invade the city and take over as the new rulers of this city. All these rare items here together with the money the city generates would greatly boost their war efforts. Plus they would also cripple the Empire's wealth. That would be what we would assume as well. However, the intel we acquired from the spies tells a different tale."

I could see myself and many others wearing the same expression. One that display our confusion. If they didn't target this place because of the wealth, what other motives could they have?

His eyes peered into each one of ours in succession. He spoke with a serious tone. His eyes were now devoid of any life. The shadows caused by his bangs has enveloped his entire face.

"They are planning to destroy the city."

…

The underground cavern was surprisingly colder than the surface. However, the cold air and the silence in the cavern, adding the occasional roars of the inhabitants of the place would send chills down our spine as we would always peer over our shoulders to avoid any monsters.

This large labyrinth below the city is divided into floors. The deeper you go, the tougher the danger beasts would be. The floor which I currently find myself in gives off the vibe of a graveyard the moment I stepped in. There was a noticeable change in temperature from the previous floors.

There are occasional cries and shrieks from the danger beasts in this floor. Death lingers in the air. Without a doubt, judging from the amount of corpses scattered throughout the floor, many has fallen here leaving behind endless tears of the ones who remembered them when they were alive. All who are unworthy were laid to rest without prejudice.

I guess you could say I was curious. Since the labyrinth is open to the public, I decided to explore it for myself. Of course, since our official mission is reconnaissance, Blade had decided to come out of his room and go outside. I suggested to explore the labyrinth below the city together, and after much persuasion he agreed.

Well, we aren't really slacking on the job. Since our job was to explore the town and search if there is anybody acting suspiciously while not drawing suspicions to ourselves, you could count what we are doing as part of the job. It's definitely not because we want to explore the labyrinth ourselves. Yes, it's totally because we are looking to see if there would be anybody suspicious within the labyrinth.

We walked towards the gate at the other side of the floor we were on. Blade and I had been exploring the previous few floors for quite some time. We had no way to keep track of time within the dungeon and had to rely on our own perception of time to determine how long we have already been in the labyrinth.

On the floor we were on was one of the 'Upper Floors' and the most common danger beasts that could be found here would be undead creatures. Danger Beasts or even humans which have died and had their corpses possessed by Lesser Wraiths. Since these monsters do not possess a brain to limit their physical strength, they are able to exhibit enormous strength. Killing them is also hard, since they are able to continue moving even after their heads or limbs are separated from their body. The most effective way to kill them, information courtesy of the knowledge found in the book I procured which our predecessors who had ventured into this place long before us had gathered, would be to separate the head and limbs from the body. Doing so would ensure that they would no longer be capable of movement anymore and they would eventually stop moving anymore since the Lesser Wraiths that possess them would have either exhausted itself or simply left.

There was one other issue with the undead danger beasts here. There would also be times where defeating these danger beasts would result in the Lesser Wraiths to leave the corpse that it had been possessing and attack adventurers itself. Basically, adventurers would have to kill both instead of the usual one. It is harder to kill the Lesser Wraiths since they are incorporeal. A special item is required to defeat it. It usually comes in the form of a light source or something which is capable of reflecting light. The stronger it is, the easier it is to kill it. In fact, the first party who managed to move on to the next floor had used their shields of metal to reflect the light rays which shines through from the surface. The had redirected the light rays towards the danger beasts, weakening them. Since their weakness was well-known, these danger beasts were no longer feared. It was recommended to tackle this floor of the labyrinth with a party of three people.

"Tatsumi, your swing is too wide. It could be easily blocked and countered easily if there was someone who is proficient with a sword." Blade suddenly pointed out.

"Eh? But I've been using it like this for quite some time now. I have made it through just fine doing so." I retorted.

"Then that's just means you are either extremely lucky or the people you are fighting are simply retarded." he said with irritation.

"Eh?"

"Well, try to correct your swings whenever you slash. That would help you to conserve your strength and also decrease your chances of being caught off-guard. Also, try adjusting your stance when you attack. Like shift your right foot inwards."

"Ok…I'll make sure to to that the next time we were attacked."

The past few hours was spent fighting the various danger beasts on the current floor of the labyrinth. We had been pretty unlucky. Every undead that comes out to greet us with their weapons would be armored to some extent. I had to use extra effort just to take one down, and they attack in swarms.

Since Blade was fighting alongside me, he would often correct some of my attacks, making them more efficient. It was still okay at first, but it gets excessive as time goes on.

We continued our journey into the labyrinth. Occasionally, we would find ourselves ambushed by danger beasts. They would spring out from around a corner, running towards us. The only annoying thing when fighting them would be that these undeads would attract more undeads. Some of the reinforcements would pop out from the ground where they were buried in.

We reached the gate to the next floor below. Of course, there were opposition, but all were crushed by the two of us.

The next floor looked exactly like a forest. The trees didn't seem like the kind of flora we would expect to find aboveground. Blade and I took a step forwards, hoping to examine the forest closer. The trees looked exactly like oak trees. There were some bulbs that hung on the branches, resembling flowers or fruits.

Maybe because it sensed our arrival, the bulb exploded, scattering yellow mist into the air. Some of them were carried by the wind, while others landed onto the ground. It wasn't long before the ground rumbled, and plants grew from where the mist landed.

"It seems the yellow mist acts like seeds or spores. From what I assume, it is spread as a sort of defense mechanism. Maybe it was done to ensure the continued survival of it species..." Blade started rambling.

Leaving him to his thoughts, I looked around for anything weird. The plants that just grew from the ground does seem suspicious. Shouldn't plant require some time for it to grow? I moved towards it, hoping to examine it closer.

Maybe it was because I was careless, I was pulled back by the collar, courtesy of Blade. It was at that moment the plants revealed teeths and consumed the air at the spot where I was moments before.

I gulped down the saliva that had accumulated in my mouth, possibly due to the fear that had arose from thinking about the situation in which I died from the encounter just now.

I think I need to calm down. Even my internal monologues is showing how much I am freaking out.

I took a few deep breaths. Trying my best to calm down. Sure, I have been in tough situations before. Near-death experiences? Plenty of them. So when plants, seemingly harmless started to attack people, it was natural for me to start freaking out. Why would plants want to attack people. Aren't they suppose to be harmless? Sure I have heard of plants consuming small insects to acquire nutrition to stay alive instead of the usual methods of acquiring sunlight during the day to do so. Man-eating plants? That's a first.

I don't think I have even read that far into the book. Probably why I was caught by surprise.

While I was still trapped in my thoughts Blade had walked forwards, uncaring of the now present threat. Sensing his presence, the plants shot forwards, exposing what looked like flowers with rows of razor sharp teeth at first glance. His knees bent slightly and his hand reached towards the sheath of his sword. The plants showed no signs of stopping.

There were some streaks of light that followed, and when they subsided the remains of the plants littered the ground around us.

I could see Blade drawing his sword and cutting through all of the monsters around him in one fluid motion. The plants were removed of their fangs, rendering harmless just like how they should be.

"I think we should call it a day. Clearly it seems you are no longer able to move onwards and I am already quite tired." He said.

I wanted to argue with his statement, though the current state of shock that I am in doesn't do much to help me with my argument. My legs were trembling even though I have tried my best to stop, my hands were constantly fiddling with the handle of my weapon that was equipped at my waist. I could only nod dejectedly, knowing how I was at a disadvantage no matter how I wish to say otherwise.

With that, we ended our journey in the labyrinth under the city. After resting in a safe place, we continued our journey upwards. There was less danger beasts now, probably because we had killed some of their kind and they were now avoiding us knowing that they were unable to kill us. Our trek upwards was filled with silence. The awkward atmosphere between the two of us bore its full weight on me, and has made me determined to dispel it. Dispelling it using the only way possible.

Talking.

"Blade, you're really talented aren't you? You seem to be able to do everything." I started out.

"Not really. There are still things I can't do." He replied. I had notice him flinching before giving his reply. Did I hit a sensitive topic?

"But the things you can do already encompasses a lot of things." I remarked.

"Not really. Compared to my siblings, I realise that there are still a lot of things I couldn't do no matter how hard I try."

"Ehh? You have siblings?" I asked, surprised. Even among the other members, Blade was the one who I know the least about. We do not know the past of each other unless they reveal it. Though you can sort of guess what they have went through from their behaviour and outlook on life.

"Yes, I do. You have a problem with that?"

"No. It's just kind of hard to imagine you shouting 'Onii-san' or 'Onee-san'." I admit. I tried doing what I said. It was impossible. In the time spent with him, I think of him as an anti-social kind of person. I have never seen him smile, since he claims that it was 'just an expression to display happiness'. In fact, I don't think he has shown any kind of emotions. The only way for us to know his mood would be through… his voice. Even then, his voice is partly monotonous.

"What's that suppose to mean?" He remarked...irritably(?). I could also sense his bloodlust slowly rising as the words left his mouth. I touched a sensitive topic. Great start, Tatsumi! You're doing great… if your objective is to piss him off.

"Well, it's just that you aren't very social, so I imagine you not getting along with your siblings or something." I replied, hoping that my reply would appease him, however painfully honest I have been.

"...You're not really too far off. Just...there was more details."

Again, the awkward silence took over. My attempts to dispel it only served to strengthen it. I felt like as if I had lost, being unable to rid of it even though it had seemed easy.

"Tatsumi, I have a question for you." He said.

I was curious. What kind of question would it be? What had caused him, a person who doesn't seem to care about anything, to ask a question? Surely something must have made him do so.

"Why are you pretending to blend in?"

"..."

"..."

"Huh?" was the only reply I can give. What is he talking about? "I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking."

"What I meant wa-"

BANG

Something fell to the floor. We turned our eyes towards whatever had fallen. There seem to be boxes everywhere. Someone had tripped and one of the boxes in their hands had fallen out of the boxes. I could see their look of apparent shock for a few moments before he scurried over to the box he dropped to examine the contents. 'Thankfully nothing seem to have been broken' was what I presume the expression on his face meant. He dusted himself, getting rid of the dust that clung to his clothes before picking up the box and walking towards the direction where the boxes were stacked.

"Was there some sort of event going on in the city?" I asked, curious as to why there were so many boxes in the first floor of the labyrinth.

"Not really. It isn't uncommon to see boxes here. Due to the adventurers, the first floor was cleared of all of the danger beasts. Since there is excess space here, the governors of the city has decided to lease this space to merchants who wishes to store goods in an area with low sunlight. This is probably why you could see tons of boxes or crates stacked here."

"That makes sense." I replied. There was a weird smell in the air, but I dismissed it. I was probably some herbs that some merchant had either wanted to sell in the city or sell it somewhere else.

By now, the question that Blade had previously raised was already at the back of our minds.

…

"Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, Sir!"

Another report that bore no fruit. I could hear the visible signs of disappointment among the members that were gathered here.

Everyone was anxious. We couldn't be faulted. It isn't everyday some powerful group of people to destroy a city. Then again, 'destroying a city' is pretty vague. Like there are numerous ways to do this. Do they mean cripple the city's flow of income? Or do they mean killing every last person in the city? There are just too many possibilities.

It doesn't help how most of the spies from the Revolutionary Army were lacking in crucial information. Sure, they do carry information, but none of the ones we need. Oda had went somewhere else within the city, 'no doubt to fool around' was what his comrades said he was off to do. Is said person really capable?

Blade had retreated back into our shared room once we had got back to the pub. As usual, there were few customers, if you were to not consider the people who were sent as reinforcements. Since there was no longer any duties, I decided to walk outside. Exploring the city was much better than staying idle, or simply reading the book to pass time. I don't have anything against spending my time reading books. However, the contents were… dry and I would prefer going outside when such thoughts start to sprout.

It wasn't long before I found myself in the business district again. This time, I was here to try out foods. The loot that Blade and I had acquired was able to cash in a bit more money than what either of us had expected. Now, without any more concerns regarding money, I find it hard to not spend it. The reasons themselves are justified. I am in an unknown environment filled with all kind of new things. Isn't it natural to try them out if they don't possess any dangers?

So began my journey of food-tasting. I made sure to keep a watchful eye as well, not wanting to neglect my mission.

It was around the evening period, and the crowd has become larger than usual. Most of the people here are adventurers who had finished their usual duties in the labyrinth and simply wishes to relax after a long hard day. More shops has been opened to the public, since their opening hours were around the late afternoon to the evening. This place is one of the few places where corruption isn't as rampant as the Capital. However, the cost of living here is higher.

This town does have crime, but it usually occurs to the low level adventurers not affiliated with some powerful person, and would usually be stopped by adventurers in exchange for silver pieces in doing so.

CRASH (A/N: sound effect, don't judge me please)

In my journey to experience the food in this city, I had unexpectedly crashed into someone as I had intended to ran to one of the stores with a queue getting longer and longer. Dressed in a white buttoned-up shirt with a black scarf wrapped comfortably on her shoulders coupled together with a black skirt with vertical white lines going horizontally around it. Her hair was sleek silver, with a silver hairclip to hold back her fringes. Eyes of amber stared at me in anger from the ground in which she had found herself sitting on after our collision.

"Sorry!" I figured that I should at least apologise to whoever before she decides to make a scene. "Are you okay?"

I had offered my hand out to her, hoping it would be able to fix the situation that I have got myself into, even if it was just a little. I could see her hesitating, before she took my hand and pulled herself off the ground.

"Y-Yes." she replied

Seeing that such things had been done properly, I had turned my sights back to my initial destination, which to my dismay, already had a long queue in front of it.

Hurriedly, I began to run hoping that the queue would not get any longer. If I had turned back towards the lady, I might have caught her smile of amusement.

But then again, it didn't matter anyway. Our brief meeting would not end there.

Great, it looks like I would have to wait for quite a while with a queue this long.

Hi guys.

Okay, first things first, allow me to apologise for making you guys wait for about 2 months for this chapter. I had been very busy, so updates from now on would be slower than usual. So allow me to say 'Sorry!'.

Alright, let's talk about the story. Firstly, adding of the sound effects is something that i am still quite uncomfortable with. It feels weird doing so, thus I decide to put them in italics. It's is preferred that my readers read this in mobile version, so that all the bold and italicised words can be seen and differentiated.

So, this arc has been taking me quite some time to finish, and I will probably sum it up within the next few chapters.

In other news, another one-shot story idea I have been working on is finally done, even if it is a spin-off based on my other story. For some reason, I wrote the spin-off faster than the original. Probably because I had fun writing it. If you guys like, please go and check it out. It's a concept that I rarely see on this fanfiction. Modern Day High School. The name is 'Academy of Talent'. I'm still playing around with this one-shot, and I might even include this into a danganronpa one-shot, since it is similar… the high school part that is, not the part where the world...you know…

Well, enough about stuff. I might be working on more projects in the future, and I would like to thank all of my readers on your continued support and for being patient. I can't promise that I won't take my time with future chapters, but at least I'll try to make it worth your wait.

Oh yea, before I forget… to ChaosOmega8: I'll keep that story idea you provided in my sights. I might work on that story, but only when I finish with this one, or once I had more interest in it to actualise it. Sorry, and please stay tuned for it. I might publish a one-shot and see how easy or hard it is to write it. No promises though :)

Now that stuff has been done, I'll talk again in the next chapter. See you next time!