Tanaka could feel the layers of sweat that she was coated in, dripping down and into her eyes causing them to sting slightly as she lay alone on the floor. The room around her was once again lit to reveal empty and plain walls with a simple stone floor, though miles more of the room was now visible due to the burst of light, and now she could see the wall that ended the room. No matter how big the room was, there was no way that it was large enough for what she had seen, yet she still felt like she had only scratched the surface of what the bizarre room had to offer. She had no intentions of investigating further, still, something seemed to tug at her, something strong. Deafening silence followed as she sat stuck in a horrified trance, somewhere behind her, the sound of dripping water, or perhaps light feet, echoed out from the edge of the remaining shadows.
She looked again to the doors, one of which now laid pathetically on the ground, the massive block extended outwards towards and even past her, the other hung off it's hinges, clinging for dear life. In the center of the doorway stood Saitama, silhouetted against the blinding light of the white halls, the smell of blood lingered in from behind him. He took a step forward, allowing her to see his face, she must of looked just as distressed as she felt because his face was one of concern and confusion. He walked over to her and knelt down, extending an open hand which lingered alone in the air for a moment before it switched to snapping near Tanaka's face.
"Hey, Tanaka, you still with me or what?" Saitama said, making Tanaka realise that she hadn't been able to bring herself to speak. She had simply been too shaken for her tongue to move properly. She pushed herself up off of the ground and looked him dead in the eye.
"We need to leave. Now." Tanaka said as she moved steadily out of the room.
"Huh? But you didn't find anything?" Saitama said confusedly.
"Actually, I found too much, let's g-" As she stepped out of the room and into the maze of hallways two things suddenly occurred to her: front of both doors had previously shown signs of wear and tear while the backside seemed untouched by time or people, but now the front of both doors seemed untouched as well. 2. Someone stood at the end of a long hallway to her left. The halls were so long that she couldn't make out any deeper details of the figure, on top of that her vision seemed to be obscured. Without saying a word she shot off in the direction of the figure. A second or two later Saitama appeared next to her.
"That's not the way to the exit, what are you doing?" He said. Tanaka took her eyes off of the figure to look at Saitama. "Someone else is here, watching us."
"Hm, but I didn't see anyone." Saitama responded.
"What? He's right-" She realised that they had reached the end of the hallway, and there was no one there but them. The hall split into two more paths, both seemed to echo out footprints from just beyond their own corners. Before Tanaka could say anything it seemed as though Saitama had rushed off down one hall, at least that's what she assumed as she now heard two sets of footsteps from one and only one set from the other. She took this as an invitation to split up and shot down the hallway that Saitama hadn't taken.
As Tanaka took turn after turn in rapid succession the walls and doors began to merge, moving faster and faster to keep up with the second set of footsteps that laid ahead of her. They never seemed to speed up and yet they never seemed to shrink in distance. No matter how much of herself she exerted the most she would ever get was a glimpse of the figure calmly walking around a corner at the end of another hall. This went on for what felt like hours until, eventually, she could go on no farther.
She collapsed in the center of an intersection of two halls, three new paths surrounded her with the fourth behind her. She fell onto her hands and knees, gasping for air and completely physically and emotionally exhausted. It was then that she noticed it: silence. She jumped to her feet, her breath heavy and her eyes wide and bloodshot. Had she lost them or had they lost her? How did she get to this point in the facility and how would she get back? She had been so focused that she hadn't been keeping track of the twists and turns she had taken. Where was Saitama? Had anyone come down to find them or at least check on them? Saitama had friends, people who wanted him to be okay, people who loved him or saw him as a decent rival, the closest friend Tanaka had was Sonic. What if they only brought Saitama back up to the surface, was this their plan all along?
As soon as she had caught her breath she began to hyperventilate, as soon as she had stood up she had fallen again, this time back onto her hands as she panicked. The world around her became darker and her chest felt tight until…
"Oh, Tanaka…" A sly voice said with a chuckle, echoing down from the hall to her side. "I know what you're looking for."
"Though she was less than pleased, she felt calmed by the voice, she managed to push herself back onto her feet.
"Is that…" She wondered aloud.
"Of course," Another familiar voice echoed from the end of the hall to her opposite. "Why else would I have cleared the place out?"
Her attention shot back to the hall the second voice had come from. "Sonic?" She said, this time to herself. She began to walk towards the hall that Sonic's voice had come from when she heard the final voice.
"Don't listen to the echoes, Tanako. Go home."
The voice, the name it had called her, it was impossible. Still, at the end of the hall in front of her stood the figure she had been chasing. She was taken aback by it, she was in utter disbelief. She couldn't run anymore, she walked towards him meekly. The closer she got the more frequently the voice would insist go home, but he was cornered now, she could see that this hall was a dead end. She got close enough to make out a few details, he was tall and round with his back to her. He wore a black suit but leaned back in a casual manner, and smoke that smelled of tobacco rose above his glowing red hair.
Then she saw something that made her panic, something that had been obscured by his size and and the smoke. In front of him was a door, a door that he reached for and opened just as she had gotten close enough to really see him. He took one look behind him, a piercing and angry look shot through her, causing her to freeze in her tracks. He looked back to the doorway, and stepped through, leaving her alone. Tanaka immediately shook herself out of it and bolted to the door, crying and screaming.
"Kana, WAIT!"
But when she reached and pried the door open she fell to her knees in shock, confusion, fear, and depression. In Front of her stood two massive, towering, perfect, untouched black doors. Adorned with handles to pull them open.
