A/N: Not too much has changed about this from the original. Considering Kazehana is alive in this version of the story, I did need to nix parts related to her death as well as add some stuff involving her, but that's all it needed really. I considered writing a more involved role with her, but I think the test is good as it stands.
XXXXXX
Gloves Off: Part I
"Haihane?!" Benitsubasa shouts, slamming a fist into the chain fence to call her attention.
"Beni?! Is that you?! What's going on?! Where am I? What is all this?!" The Blue Sekirei cried out. She was bound to a badly-aged wooden chair, much like Minato was when he first woke up, her tattered coat missing but her body still covered by her body wrap of bandages. Her hair was matted and greasy, suggesting she had not been allowed to clean herself for at least a week or more to Benitsubasa, who knew despite her clothes her coworker was fairly fastidious about her hygiene thanks to her habit of cutting herself accidentally. Though she did often wonder if those wounds were all truly accidental at times.
Tears soon streak Haihane's pale complexion, the stress, and confusion of her current situation getting to her. Letting out a loud shriek of anxiety she moved to stand up to better see her pinkette Discipline Squad member only to have her hands jerk to a stop with blinding pain after they reached a certain point vertically. She sat back down and carefully raised her aching limbs up to her line of vision... and saw the reason for her agony, "W-what happened to my hands?!" she demanded of the empty room around her, forgetting her audience for a moment as she examined her extremities.
From her fingers blood welled out from where they met her claws, her once familiar weapons having brutally turned upon their wielder. Red droplets steadily dripped into an ever-growing bloody puddle at her feet, another sign that she'd been there for some time. Her hands twitched with painful shivers no matter how much she suppressed the urge, causing the flow of lifeblood to increase with every tremble.
Her saturated eyes tried to see her teammate, but the intense light from directly above and the rest of the room cloaked in darkness made that a fool's attempt and increased the feeling of isolation that had come over her the moment she had awakened, Benitsubasa's response notwithstanding.
But if she looked down and away from the light, she could see a message sprawled out on the floor in front of her in large crimson letters,
'DON'T MOVE'
The Kanji was at least a yard in length, the better to catch her eye once she awakened no doubt. Her mind told her body to obey, but the excruciating pain coming from her fingers made that impossible for it to perform, leaving her arms as conductors of her torture.
To Benitsubasa and Minato, they saw nothing but her signature claws in their usual spot at the ends of her hands. But the blood flowing out of them and down her always-bandaged arms was a sign that this was a very different story. One that stripped away the comedy of past interactions with the Sekirei and showed only a young woman hurting.
To Haihane, it felt like her flesh was being violated to the very bones of her fingers, metal scrapping every time her muscles convulsed and drawing helpless sounds from her chapped and dry lips.
Minato's eyes were filled with horror that increased the more he took in the scene before him. First thing he noticed about Haihane was that the studded black collar she always adorned was present on her neck but that now a thick cable was hooked into the back of it, taunt and ready to pull back at any second if he was seeing things right. Judging by his own experience with Jigsaw's games and research into his past exploits, moving her head would start the horror show or possibly kill her, neither option having any appeal to Minato.
Four games, in particular, came to his mind in a flash in which, if memory served him right, had ended with at least 2 of the victims dying at their climax...very bad odds to be facing under the clock like they were at the present Minato thought to himself. This was going to be tricky to pull off and Haihane's mental state would not help, they needed to get her calm and fast or at least willing to listen.
He looked over to his companion's side and was not encouraged by what he saw in her...
Right off he could see that a scowl had emerged on Benitsu's face as she chewed on her bottom lip, although that could have been simply from Haihane using the name, but Minato doubted that. Something was clearly troubling her as the look she was giving Haihane at this moment was that of apathy, if not consideration. While Minato's interactions with them had been limited, he couldn't imagine what could have happened to cause them to go from teasing/bickering to this...utter lack of concern.
Minato couldn't dwell on the puzzle for long, as Haihane was starting to get more and more agitated,
"HAIHANE! DON'T. MOVE." Minato shouted as he curled his fingers over the links in the fence, overcompensating after the siege his eardrums had been subjected to.
"Who is that?!" Haihane's torso jolted forwards from her seat, her head swerving in all directions as she tried to make out the two shadowy figures in the blackened abyss before her. "How do you know my name?! Show yourself!" The voice was that of a male... And sounded vaguely familiar but her mind was too full of terror to firmly remember who he was.
She heard his voice again a moment later, his words...less than encouraging, "Listen to me! Keep your head straight up and against the chair! And for the love of all that is holy, don't panic or struggle too much!"
At those words, the Blue Sekirei became hyper-aware of the coarse feeling on her neck, making her swallow reflexively. The collar around her throat was pulling her back, albeit slightly with how far she was from the back of the chair. She promptly thought of running her fingers along the collar to verify her suspicions, but the reality of her situation made that a moot point. No matter what sensation her unwanted motif would give, it had zero chance of besting the agony in her fingertips. So she suppressed the urge and instead chose another tack.
She turned her head around, slowly in case movement triggered...something, and horror filled her eyes to the brim and overflowed in the form of fresh tears. From the collar she wore, a cable jutted from behind it and beyond that was a mounted razor. Below it was a basket ready to catch her severed head. Haihane's face drained of blood as she realized that she was sitting in a convoluted guillotine!
In a panic, she ignored the pain in her hands and fingers and attempted to use her claws to cut the cable and free herself...but no matter how much she tried, her evidently dulled blades made no effect, amping up her terror with each failure, her breath panting out in gasps and grunts.
"Haihane! Please stop!" Minato pleaded, his eyes darting about the area, "If you keep doing that you might start the-"
The sound of electricity ripples through the air as a spotlight drags its beam away from its attempt to give Haihane a tan and goes off the side of the room seemingly at random... This illusion of chance is dispelled the moment it falls upon a life-sized model of the dreaded Billy doll,
"...game."
Minato's spine slouches in defeat, causing his forehead to rest against the fence. Too late to do any planning now Minato thought to himself morosely. He couldn't blame Haihane for getting scared and triggering the latest test, but he'd be lying if he didn't feel that a chance had been wasted.
Benitsubasa on the other hand was all too willing to blame her former partner, her gloves cracking under the pressure of her increasing grip. Once again, she was going to have to clean up after Haihane's mess, just like she always did.
Haihane's gaze homed in on the doll as it began its sardonic greeting, unaware of the various thoughts of her two potential allies,
"Greetings, Haihane, let's play a game, shall we? Thanks to the inception of the third Discipline Squad you've been given the advantages few others have enjoyed. The advantage of becoming the judge, jury, and executioner of those deemed as a threat to the Sekirei Plan's order, of those Minaka deemed unworthy of his own "Grand Plan". But through poor moral decisions you, as well as your colleagues have used these advantages to further yourselves in that self-same plan at the expense of your fellow Sekirei, and in turn, the innocent. Now it is your turn to be on the receiving end of discipline, to know the helplessness that you dealt out so slovenly and carelessly."
From far above, warm-colored lights beam upon Minato & Benitsu's chambers, causing them to shield their eyes until they grew used to the lighting and framing them to aid Haihane's ability to distinguish them,
"As you can see, you are not alone here, for the survivors of the previous tests are here to help you...Or are they?"
The twisted mockery of a puppet seemed to pause at this, giving the trapped Reaper a chance to fully comprehend her helplessness, "The moment they entered this room, a timer has been activated. You will have less than twenty minutes to convince these individuals that you are indeed worthy of saving, worthy of redemption. No doubt you have discovered the cable that runs through your collar. It is designed to create so much tension and pressure, that when activated the collar you wear will decapitate you with the mounted razor located just beyond the nape of your neck."
Haihane's hyperactive senses immediately zeroed on the feeling of said razor, causing her tears to fall freely once more and her lips to dry in dread, "The only way to remove the collar, is by reaching the opposite end of the stage in front of you and inserting the keys into the lock."
Another spot light drags itself several yards in front of Haihane, passing through five intense jets of white-hot steam that shot out of the floor in front of her the moment it passed by them. Upon the wall beyond them was the lock, in theory, but this wasn't a normal lock. This one had ten holes set in a metal panel in the wall, five on each side corresponding to Haihane's fingers coming together in a seemingly innocent arc,
"Doing so will release both you and your would-be saviors. But this will be easier said than done, as these five jets of scalding hot steam block your path and will continue to do so as long as the game remains in play. The moment you move from that seat, on the other hand, a ninety-second timer will begin signifying how much time you have to make it past the current steam block in your way and free yourself." At this Haihane turned to the puppet in outrage at such an arbitrary and rapid time allotment, forgetting it was merely a prop she could not emotionally reach,
"The only way to reach your destination without having harm is with the help of the individuals who stand trapped to your right and left respectively in the rooms above. Inside their chambers are valves which can redirect the steam and allow you passage to your redemption." Haihane waited for the catch to this supposed break being offered to her...it was not long in coming,
"However, doing this will redirect the steam into their own chambers, and thus injure them instead. A degree of teamwork will be recommended on both their parts to accomplish this task, as the temperature of the steam can be cut in half if Minato and his chosen accomplice turn their respective valves together." Haihane looked up and could only see two blurry figures above her, and guessed that the others Jigsaw was alluding to were farther back and out of her line of sight,
"I must stress, that not only are the valves directly linked to the pipes venting steam, but they also act as a winch to open the way to the next valve. Only by turning each valve completely can you all hope to find success here. That is if you choose to not wait out the twenty-minute timer. Once that timer ends its countdown, it will be considered game over for you, Haihane. Minato and company will be freed and allowed passage to the next trial, but the collar will pull you to your grave." Haihane let out an involuntary whimper at the idea of whoever this "Minato" was watching her die, it reminded her too much of how Natsuo got sometimes when he and Karasuba were together on a job.
Minato… That name sounded familiar to the Reaper Sekirei but recognition still eluded her as her mind kept coming back to the fact that if she wasn't helped...she was dead and gone.
All spotlights focused on Haihane now, and more particularly her hands. Likewise, the doll spoke up once more, removing any confusion as to what her immediate fate might be.
"Look long and hard upon your hands, Haihane, for the keys to your freedom, are located on them; your very claws. You must insert your claws into the locks and twist them until the locks are undone. Doing so will earn your freedom, but there will be a price for your liberation. During the time you were unconscious, your fingernails were surgically rooted to the very claws you've used to hurt so many with, including yourself."
Haihane looked at her familiar weapons with something akin to betrayal. She was used to cutting herself with her claws out of apathy and distraction, but to know that in order to be free she would have to use them to torture herself was a revelation that made bile rise to the back of her mouth as the doll made its final declarations before falling ominously silent and still,
"Are you willing to fight tooth and nail for your freedom, or will the very form of the harsh discipline you've forced on others be your undoing? Will you live or die? Make your choice and let the games begin."
15:29...15:28...15:27...
With the messages relayed, the spotlights adorning the Jigsaw dummy swung over to illuminate Minato and Benitsu's respective chambers, while others turned off completely, giving Haihane a reprieve from the blinding she had been getting earlier. Haihane could now finally see the man who promised to save her,
"You…" she gawked in shock, trembling with incredulity and a smidgeon of outraged recognition, "You're that guy from the bridge…Minato... the one with the-"
Minato nodded in affirmation, interrupting the trapped Sekirei before she could bring up his recent loss, "That's right. Benitsubasa and I are here to help you, we'll get you out of there as quickly as possible." He looked over to Benitsubasa, who was giving off a very thunderous scowl. What was this about?
The answer wasn't long in coming,
"Help her?" she shouted in anger, "Are you joking, pipsqueak?! Why the fuck would we help this ragged sack of useless?!" she spat at her partner in a display of...vicious spite that Minato had yet to see from her, and at a target that simply made no sense,
"Joking?! What are you getting on about, Benitsu? That's exactly why we're here!" He yelled back, partly to be heard over the steam vents but also to try to reassure Haihane that this sudden argument was one-sided.
Haihane's vocal cords quivered as she sobbed helplessly, "Please..h-help me! Don't let me die here! " She hadn't felt this helpless before and Benitsu's hostility was pushing her to the point of a breakdown, "I don't want to die alone like this."
"Don't worry," Minato clawed at the metal chain links as he leaned in, hoping she could see and take comfort from his steady visage, "I'll get you out of there one way or another, I promise!"
Benitsubasa's voice rang out from his left, "Don't bother buddy, she'd just drag us down and get us killed!" she screamed her face almost red with the blood infusing it. Furious fireballs burned in the crazed stare above her biting snarl as she stared at the woman below her.
"What?!" Haihane and Minato shouted in unison, unable to believe the words they just heard, although Haihane's reaction was coupled with a shiver running down her spine that wasn't sweat-induced.
"You heard me, Minato! It's Haihane's fault that my Ashikabi is in this mess in the first place, that I was nearly filled with more holes than I thought of 88's! I left that fucking transvestite, Freddy Krueger wannabe alone for five minutes to watch over Natsuo, and the next thing I know he's chained up on an elevator ready to split him in half! Let the emo-bitch die!" Benitsubasa's voice grew soft and cold at the end, completely sincere in her vindictive desire.
Minato tried again to skim through their time together and figure out what exactly triggered this,
…
Earlier in the trials...
"You must really love your Ashikabi then, don't you?"
"I do. I would do anything for him..."
"If only I hadn't left him alone at that damn doctor's office..."
"Is that the last time you saw him?"
...
"Was there anyone else keeping an eye on Natsuo before you left?"
"Yeah, Haihane was there, but she was too caught up playing her Vita to really notice anything suspicious."
"...like I said, if it weren't for me leaving him behind, none of this would have happened. It's my fault."
"Don't say that! There was absolutely no way you or anyone else for that matter could have predicted something like this happening, so don't blame yourself for any of this! The fact you're here alongside me right now in spite of our history to save him, that's what matters. And I'm sure he'll love you for it."
"I...I guess you're right. Come to think of it, Haihane should have been more alert while I was gone. If it's anyone's fault, it's hers. Next time I see that bandaged transvestite, I'll beat her bandaged ass to a pulp! Damn that fucking mummified hussie!"
…
Minato cringed as he realized that he had more or less led Benitsubasa to that conclusion in trying to cheer her up. He had been too preoccupied to realize that she hadn't accepted the arbitrary nature of their mutual imprisonment, and simply transferred the blame to another person. He mentally kicked himself for not heading that off before, as they had precious little time to work it out now,
"Natsuo?!" Haihane shouted as her heart jumped in shock, "Where is he?! What happened to him?!" she called out to Benitsubasa's silhouette.
"Don't bullshit me, Haihane!" Benitsu roared, "You were right there with him in the waiting room of the medical clinic! I remember it like it was yesterday, you sat to his left playing your PSP and I was on his right cling-uh, curled up to his arm! I went out for five minutes to go get a candy bar across town and boom, I find him chained up in this shithole and I was trussed up like a stuck pig waiting for the STUCKING! Gaming meant more to you than protecting our Ashikabi!" Pain and rage rang out clearly from the spunky pinkette's voice box
"That's not true!" Haihane hollered back, unable to take this, and Benitsubasa's willingness to let her die lying down, "I have no idea what happened to him! In fact, the last thing I remember before I lost consciousness was you leaving!" Haihane shot back, "But I guess your sweet tooth mattered more than Natsuo if you were willing to go across town for your fix rather than just get one at the concessions stand!"
Benitsubasa pounded a balled fist into the fence as she practically howled, "THERE WAS NO CONCESSION STAND, YOU LIAR!" she pounded three more times for emphasis. "LIAR! LIAR! LIAR!"
"Yes, there was! You just didn't bother looking for it!" She took a panting deep breath as Haihane realized this wasn't the time to snipe at her, "I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention Red, but you think that's because I gave up, that I felt nothing for our Ashikabi? You aren't the only one hurting because he doesn't pay attention to us Beni, I just dealt with it differently. Please please, get me out of here and we can both save him!" She put every bit of her sincerity into her plea, making her sound much more passionate than Minato had ever expected to hear from her.
"Come on, Benitsu!" Minato yelled in support, "Whatever happened at the clinic while you were gone obviously had to be out of Haihane's control. She's more than capable of handling herself in a fight, so I highly doubt that you being there would have made a lick of difference! And even if she could, she doesn't deserve death for it! This is just Jigsaw pitting us against each other again, don't-" He found himself cut off.
"Oh, can it, pipsqueak." she snapped at him, forgetting everything but her need to vent at the person she had counted on to keep their Ashikabi safe. Karasuba considered them all disposable at best and Benitsubasa couldn't be there 24/7, but did that matter to lil' miss gamer girl?
"I will not 'can it'! Be honest here Benitsu, you just want someone to blame and take your frustrations out on!" Minato slumped back, away from the gate. His eyes were shadowed out by his hair. "So that's how this is then? You're just going to run your mouth and let one of your only friends die? What happened to our earlier conversation about fighting through this game together instead of fighting amongst ourselves? What happened to the trust?!" He wasn't going to bend on this, he got where Benitsu was coming from, but he'd die himself before he let another suffer like Haihane was and not do anything.
"Trust, shumst! I trusted Haihane to do one simple job and we wind up in this hell hole because she was too sucked into her games and anime! As far as I'm concerned, she can die here!" Benitsubasa's compact chest heaved with the intensity of her shouts, all the feelings she had been suppressing or had built up were boiling out the top.
Haihane's sobbing intensifies, as does the bleeding, "I'm sorry I'm sorry, please I don't wanna die, I'm sorry!" Minato's heart went out to the person he finally started seeing not as an enemy or rival combatant, but as a young woman who had evidently reached her limit,
"That's enough, Benitsu!" Minato shouted from across the stage, unwilling to let this go on, "The poor girl is scared out of her mind! She can't think with you screaming down her throat like that!" He stared right into his 'partner's' eyes, daring her to argue,
Benitsu shrugged and crossed her arms tightly below her chest, unwilling to let go of her grudge and to meet his eyes, "Yeah, well this 'poor girl' nearly cost you your life back on the bridge! You can't honestly tell me she's worth your trust!"
Minato saw red for a moment, "You fucking hypocrite! Last I recall, you helped her that night and furthermore I saved you in spite of it! I could have left you to hang from that web of chains and watched you get liquified from the inside out, but I didn't! I saved you! That is what we need to do here, we need to go past what happened before if we want to survive, like we talked about before." he ground out despite his anger,
"Shut up, twerp!" Spat Benitsubasa as she flushed with embarrassment at being so effectively called out, "She was there, she has to pay!" she retorted stubbornly.
So much for "I'll do my best to keep that feisty part of me in check from here on out". Minato knew Benitsu had a short temper, but this was so much worse than the usual boob envy or need for attention. This wasn't the regular old hot-headed Tsundere everyone knew and...well knows, this was a much darker side of Benitsu being directed towards Haihane. Benitsubasa was devoted to Natsuo to a point that few Sekirei matched, even in spite of his neglect and lack of feelings for her, but even so, Minato felt like something else was driving her here beyond her borderline obsession and feelings of being let down by Haihane.
He was really regretting not choosing Kazehana to play this with him. This mess could have easily been avoided if he had and they wouldn't be wasting time on petty arguing when the lives of everyone were on the line. Speaking of Kazehana, he hadn't heard a peep from her at all since entering this place. Maybe the room was soundproofed from the outside?
In the end, both Benitsubasa and Minato had people depending on them and they had no time to waste with this. They could work out the blame game in between challenges like before, "Benitsu, enough." Said Sekirei looked at him in surprise as she heard the firm and authoritative tone in his voice, Just like I wish Natsuo talked to me with. She bit her lip until she bled at the thought, she was not Haihane, she wouldn't betray their Ashikabi. She kept an eye on Minato as he kept talking to her, even Haihane who could barely hear Minato leaned in a bit to catch the mini-speech,
"We do not have time for this. Your Ashikabi, my flock, and all of our loved ones are depending on us. If you do nothing, Haihane dies and we have one less ally to face Jigsaw's future 'games' and more people could, and more likely, will die...even Natsuo. These tests are likely made assuming there are survivors, so don't let your emotions get the better of you! Should she have been paying attention, yes. But Jigsaw clearly did his homework on the both of you and knew when to strike when both of you, and Natsuo would be most vulnerable. We fall apart now, and he wins for good. Is that really what you want?" Minato and Haihane both looked at her expectantly as the words sank in...
Benitsu bit her thumbnail hard and turned away, knowing full well that Minato was right, but unable to accept it in the face of her own culpability and need to lash out, "Whatever. I'm still not helping. You can waste your effort on her on your own" She fell silent, hunching her body as she felt Minato's disappointment and resignation like a punch to the gut,
"Funny, Kazehana never said that about you...even though she had just as much, if not more, a reason to...but I guess that was the difference between the two of you."
His quiet words ringing in Benitsubasa's ears, Minato diverted his attention from her and focused solely on Haihane, who was tearful as ever. He did his best to meet her eyes despite the distance between them and saw her lips quiver with the ghost of a smile. Running with the limited momentum he started coaxing her in a firm, but steady voice,
"Haihane, I know you're feeling vulnerable right now. Terrified even and you have every right to be, but from what that timer is saying you only have about fifteen minutes to make your decision. If you don't act soon, the decision will be made for you." He saw her look back at the cord tied to her collar and blanch, "Now I know the last time we saw each other we were on opposite sides, but that was then, and I don't hold a grudge for it. I suggest we put that behind us, and I ask you to trust me to get you free. I swear on my love for the Sekirei Winged to me that I will not steer you wrong."
"B-But the message on the floor," Haihane stuttered, shaken by Benitsubasa's apathy to her imminent death, as well as the revelation that she only had fifteen minutes or less to live, "i-it says 'Don't Move'."
"Haihane you have to get up and play the game, or else you're going to die, Jigsaw will make sure of it. I don't care what Benitsubasa or anyone else says, your life is precious and you shouldn't just give up on it. I already lost...someone who meant the world to me too and I'll be damned if I watch anyone else die, certainly not someone I'd be happy to call a friend without these games in the way."
Minato's words stunned Haihane, and to a lesser degree, Benitsubasa. The Discipline Squad members were unable to easily understand how Minato could be so open-hearted after everything each knew about what happened to him. Haihane's fear-glazed eyes widened as her mind caught up to the tail end of his assertion, "Friend? I'm y-your friend?..."
"Of course Haihane. I'll be your friend from this point onward." He gave her the best smile he could at the moment before he turned to his pink-haired compatriot, hoping she'd have a change of heart following his encouragement, "What do you say, Benitsu, can we count on you?"
Folding her arms around her torso, she glared at him weakly, "I say you can blow it out your ass." She couldn't bear for him to be right, not now. Her former partner had to pay for everything, why couldn't Minato see that? She didn't care about Natsuo, not as Benitsubasa did, she gave up a long time ago and they couldn't count on someone like that. But the kid was too damn selfless and noble and wouldn't give up on anyone he saw in need.
Unlike Natsuo a treacherous voice whispered in her mind, making Benitsubasa growl out loud and turn away from them both, "NO. I'm showing as much effort to help her as she did to keep Natsuo safe. Karma's a bitch and so am I, I guess."
Minato shook his head sadly at her response, before shrugging with resignation, well I should have seen that coming from a mile away, he thought to himself. He knew that Benitsubasa could be stubborn and boy was she showing it now. But he wasn't the only person who heard her latest denial...
Forgetting her terror in the face of Benitsubasa's betrayal, Haihane bit down on her lip, drawing some blood, and spat in fury, "You know what, fuck you too, Benitsubasa! You always were a self-centered cu-Oh shit!"
*Clink! ticktickticktickticktick
0:90...0:89...0:88…
Dreaded noises started coming from the timer on the wall and its second hand began to descend, stopping Haihane cold, literally in the case of the sweat now pouring down her back.
When she had snapped at the pinkette, Haihane had forgotten where she was and must have inadvertently leaned forward too far. The line hooking her neck to the timer pulled out and started her game.
XXXXXX
Kazehana watched the events of Minato's next trial through a mirror she assumed was two-way as none of them took note of her banging and yelling to grab their attention. It opened up the moment the test began and she had been an observer ever since. She could hear them thanks to an intercom. She seriously wanted to give Benitsubasa a piece of her mind as well as a heel up the ass for the cold treatment she was giving Haihane, and really wanted to kiss Minato on the spot for how well he was handling matters.
Then suddenly she doubled over into a hacking fit, putting her hand to her mouth to try and control it.
After a moment, it subsided and she pulled it from her mouth, she blinked and cringed at what she found on her palm. Blood droplets.
XXXXXX
A/N: The next chapter will be the last one for a bit since once that's uploaded, the story will be caught up to the events the original left off on. From that point on, the fic will be forging ahead and I'll need to write chapters from scratch. Stay tuned.