Preparation
Hana opened his eyes very slowly and blinked a few times before focusing on the ceiling above him. He lay flat on his back with a thin green blanket covering his torso and legs. The fatigue waned as he scratched his head briefly and rubbed his hand with his face.
"How did you sleep?"
He was startled by the gentle male voice but realized quickly he wasn't at home. Hao sat in a chair watching him sleep the entire time, and the thought lingered in his mind a few moments before he smiled.
"I feel better now," he replied and yawned.
"Good." He rubbed his head with his hand as the boy sat upright.
"Where's Mei?" Hana asked weakly as he paused to rub his eyes.
"She's busy at the moment, but you'll see her soon."
"Okay."
"Are you hungry?"
"A little." He suddenly felt embarrassed for admitting it and grabbed his stomach.
"Come with me. We'll get you something to eat." He held out his hand. "There are people I want you to meet."
"Um, okay."
After taking a few moments to wash his face and brush his teeth, Hao led Hana down a long hallway that was greatly unfamiliar. He was unaware of the specific layout of the place, and he didn't recognize his surroundings. The cave walls looked mostly identical.
"It's a shortcut," Hao said randomly as if he knew the boy was confused.
"Okay," he whispered.
Since Hao was walking directly in front of him, Hana watched his pace with great interest. The man's confidence was greatly alluring, and Hana suddenly envied this presence. He seemed effortlessly persuasive and strong, characteristics Hana knew he lacked, and for some reason he was intimidating without saying a word. He lowered his head slightly and watched his feet in silence. If only he had this strength. If only he had confidence and courage. Maybe he wouldn't be so miserable. And, maybe people like James would fear him instead of—
He sighed audibly, and Hao slowed his pace.
"What's wrong, Hana?" he asked without turning around.
"Nothing," he mumbled. "It's stupid."
They entered a large open room at the end of the hallway that was full of light, much to Hana's surprise. The laughter and cheerful voices caught his attention, especially as they quickly silenced when Hao entered. Hana watched with great anxiety as the adults surrounding them quickly stood and bowed. Some of them stared at Hana with great awe and excitement; others seemed bothered he was there.
"This is Hana," Hao announced, although this was greatly unnecessary. Everyone knew who he was, and Hana could sense the tension. "He's hungry."
"I made soup for him, Master," one woman sheepishly replied and took a few steps forward.
Hana stared at her and nervously smiled. The woman was undeniably attractive. Her long, waist length black hair was wild, fanning out over her head in controlled chaos, and she wore a red scarf around her forehead that seemed to tame the strands somehow. Her sun kissed skin was flawlessly smooth; the bronze tone highlighted the luminosity of her green eyes. Her beauty was bothersome, and Hana's discomfort greatly increased as he found himself unable to stop staring.
"Thank you, Rutherfor," Hao replied with a smile.
"Come with me." She held out her hand.
Hana obeyed the request quickly and followed her to one of the nearby rounded tables. The others were still standing in awkward silence until Hao told them to sit down. The atmosphere was deeply unsettling and impressive at the same time; Hana couldn't help his amazement. He had never seen his father demand this kind of attention and...fear. It was fascinating. And, he wanted it.
"I hope you like it." Rutherfor interrupted his thoughts quickly and smiled at him. "Be careful; it's very hot."
"Thank you very much," Hana replied and returned the smile.
"I'll be back later, Hana," Hao said. "I want you to get to know them while I'm gone."
"Okay."
When Hao left the room, the tension began to slowly subside. Some of the adults were talking again, and he saw a few of them approach his table.
"So, I'm Rutherfor," the woman sitting beside him said. "It's so great to finally meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too." He paused to blow on the bowl she placed in front of him.
"So, you're Hana." A tall man with blond hair stood at the edge of the table. His thick beige shirt gave the illusion he was extremely muscular, and he wore black pants with black socks. Hana noticed randomly that he hadn't seen anyone there wearing shoes, but he dismissed the aimless thought quickly.
"Um, yeah," Hana replied.
"I'm Pino," he said proudly, then pointed behind him. "This is Meene."
"Hi there," the woman said eagerly.
"And..." He turned to his right and pointed. "This is Chocolove."
"Hey, little man," he said. "What's up?"
"Hi," Hana replied with a polite smile. "It's nice to meet all of you."
"Sorry about earlier," Pino said with a shrug. "Sometimes they get spooked when Hao's here."
"Why?"
They stared at him as if it were some type of trick question but didn't reply.
"Well..." Pino pointed to a table across the room. "Those girls over there are Kanna and Marion. They don't talk to us...so..."
"Oh, okay." Hana giggled slightly.
"Let him eat, Pino," Rutherfor scolded. "We can talk to him later."
"Fine." He seemed disappointed with the request and folded his arms over his torso. "Hey, kid. If you need anything, come and find me...okay?"
"Sure."
"Yeah," Chocolove added. "And, he'll come and find me. Then I'll fix it."
Rutherfor and Meene laughed at them, but Pino didn't appreciate the joke and frowned.
"Whatever," he mumbled. "We'll talk later, Hana."
"Okay."
Hana began eating his soup as his hunger overtook his stomach in painful cramps. He ate much faster than he anticipated, but the soup was so delicious he couldn't stop. He was slightly distracted when three more adults entered the room and sat at a table several feet away. He recognized the blue haired woman from earlier, but the two men she was with were foreign. One had the same blue hair and was muscular; the other was thinner with long red hair held with bands into three distinct sections. At first glance, Hana thought the red head was a girl, but as they passed, he realized he was wrong.
"I'll be right back," Rutherfor said and abruptly left the table.
Hana nodded and watched her as she joined their table.
"Pirika, hi."
"So, he's awake?"
"Yeah, he's eating so I wanted to give him some space."
She sat beside the red haired man, and the proximity was much closer than casual. He smiled at her with a slightly reddened face, and she held his hand.
"If you're going to do it out in the open, we can't cover for you," Pirika groaned under her breath.
"Seriously, stop that," her brother sighed.
Rutherfor giggled from the protest and quickly released his hand. He was greatly disgusted by the action but didn't address it.
"Horo," he said gravely, "Nichrom told me we have an assignment."
"Matilda said the same thing," Pirika replied weakly. "Did he say what it was about, Fudou?"
"No, he just said we need to be ready to fight tomorrow morning."
"I hate when he's vague like that," Horo replied bitterly. "Just tell us what you want."
"What if you have to fight Hana?" Rutherfor asked, glancing briefly at the boy.
"He's not ready yet," Pirika said. "It's too soon."
"But, what if you're wrong?"
The four sat in silence and stared at the table.
"Come on, Rutherfor," Pirika said quickly. "He just got here."
"Yeah," Horo added nervously. "That wouldn't make any sense...would it?"
"He could probably kill you," Rutherfor whispered weakly. "All of you."
"Okay, stop it," Fudou said. "We don't know what the assignment is, so there's no point in getting worked up about it."
"You're assuming Hao's right about his power, Rutherfor," Horo said with slight irritation. "He could be just a normal kid like we were."
"Or, he could kill you."
Pirika rolled her eyes.
"I'm not trying to spook you. I just want you to be careful. We have no idea what that boy is capable of, and if you have to fight him you should be prepared."
"Marco and Jeanne will be there too," Fudou added. "I overheard Luchist talking to Marco about it."
"Are we under attack?" Rutherfor asked.
"No." Horo scratched his ear. "He would have told us."
"Does Jeanne know about Mei?" Pirika asked.
"I don't know," Horo sighed. "She's supposed to be with Faust. I haven't seen them in at least three hours."
"Where did he take her?" Rutherfor asked with a worried expression.
Pirika stared at the table and bitterly clenched her teeth. Horo tapped his fingers against the table.
"Horo, we need to leave," Fudou stood from the table. "We have to prepare for tomorrow."
"...Fine."
He reluctantly followed Fudou out of the room, and they both paused to stare back at the table. Rutherfor waved at them cheerfully, but Pirika continued staring at the table. Once they were out of sight, her smile faded and she folded her arms over her torso.
"Pirika, what's going on?" she asked.
"I can't tell you."
"Why not? We're roommates, and I would like to think we're friends too. You know something I don't, and I want to know what it is."
"It's probably better you don't know," she sighed.
"I won't tell anyone. You know I can keep secrets."
Pirika glanced at her briefly and exhaled. She didn't want too many people involved, but Rutherfor was right. During their time with Hao, they became very good friends, especially because of Horo and Fudou bonding as roommates. She and Horo even helped hide their relationship from the rest of their accomplices; it was a daunting task, but she didn't want Nichrom to grow suspicious. And, with Rutherfor being the only woman in Nichrom's team, Pirika was a natural person to gravitate to.
Rutherfor was a friend. Yes, she could call her that.
"Mei is here for one reason," she said in the lowest tone possible.
"What reason?"
"Matilda's using her as bait to lure Tao Ren out of hiding."
"He's in hiding?" she replied with a confused frown. "I didn't know that."
"He's trying to stay under the radar," Pirika explained. "They all are. But, I'm sure he knows now Mei is missing. He'll come for her and kill anyone in his way."
"Matilda is out of her mind."
Pirika didn't respond but stared at her with blank acknowledgment.
"She wants revenge," Rutherfor concluded. "She has to know that's suicide, right? Matilda couldn't defeat Ren even if she tied him up first."
"Revenge is never rational," Pirika replied.
"What will she do with Mei?"
"You can't tell anyone I told you this," Pirika said quickly and sternly. "No one outside of our team knows about it."
"...Okay."
"She's planning to kill her."
Rutherfor gasped and held her hand over her mouth but changed her expression quickly when she noticed Kanna staring at her from across the room.
"When Ren arrives, she'll already be dead," Pirika continued bitterly. "That's the plan, at least."
"She can't do that!" Rutherfor whispered angrily. "Hao won't allow it. Does he know about this?"
"He has to know. Do you really think he cares anything about Mei?"
"Maybe not, but what about Jeanne? He wouldn't betray her."
"I'm not waiting for that chance," Pirika sighed. "I need to get Mei out of here, and if you want to consider yourself my friend, you'll help me."
Rutherfor bit her bottom lip. "What do you want me to do?"
The darkness increased her fear much more than the strangling ropes securing her wrists and ankles to the hard chair she sat in. Her body shivered mostly from terror, but the room was cold; goosebumps covered her arms mercilessly, and the black blindfold over her eyes made matters much worse.
She was afraid to speak; there was no way to tell if she was alone. And, her ability to hear thoughts was useless when this stressed. She tightened her hands into weak fists and swallowed hard as she attempted to regulate her breathing.
I'll be fine. He'll come for me. I know he will.
When she heard a door slowly open she flinched involuntarily and tightened her jaw.
Hana will come. Just wait. Just stay calm. He'll come.
"Hello, Mei." The woman's voice was incredibly gentle, which was greatly disturbing.
The girl decided not to reply; she had to get her nerves under control.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Are you afraid of the dark?"
Of course she was afraid. Matilda knew that about her. This was probably the best form of torture; she didn't have to proceed. Mei could feel her approaching steps and held her breath. She removed the blind fold and stared into her crimson eyes with great amusement.
How disgusting.
"I'll be honest with you," she said as the unrestrained strands of her orange hair fell into Mei's face and tickled her nose. "I'm really going to enjoy this."
"Hana will find me," Mei blurted suddenly. "He'll come for me."
"He's busy with more important matters," Matilda replied dismissively and stood back to stare at her, "but it's so cute of you to think that."
"So will my father."
"Oh, I'm counting on it. I can tell you exactly what will happen."
Mei's anger slowly overclouded her fear as she stared at the woman with clenched teeth.
"Both of you will die here," she said confidently. "But, you'll die first."
"Hana won't let you kill me," Mei whispered defiantly. "Hana will come."
"Keep telling yourself that, you little brat," Matilda said with a snicker. "You can say it until you take your last breath."
"When my father and Hana find me, you'll die, Matilda." Mei's threatening words were more intimidating than they should have been. "They'll kill you."
Matilda approached her very slowly then slapped her hard with the back of her hand. Mei whimpered as the vicious blow stung her face, and tears quickly filled her eyes as she stared at the floor.
"How tough are you when you're alone, Mei?" she asked her tauntingly. "How long can you survive without people saving you? You're a weak little girl, and I intend to show you just how much."
"I'm not afraid of you, Matilda."
"Maybe not," she replied as she walked to the door, "but I know you're afraid of dying, and you're definitely afraid of the dark."
When Matilda left the room and closed the door, the light quickly dispelled, leaving Mei in complete darkness. She knew the woman had removed the blind fold but realized it didn't matter. Matilda put her here on purpose; she knew this, but the fear clouded her reason.
"Hana?" she whimpered weakly through increasing tears. "Hana, please. Please help me!"
The silence was horrifying, and she gasped for air as her breathing increased.
"Father?"
Matilda leaned her back against the wall in the hallway and folded her arms over her torso. She didn't speak, but as she stared at the floor the audible screaming was difficult to ignore. Mei was hysterical, she concluded, and the thought formed an excited grin on her face.
