Chapter 3 – Dealings by Night
Unknown to the auburn-haired girl sound asleep in her room, she was being watched. Yukari, Mitsuru and the school's Board Chairman Ikutsuki, whom she met earlier this evening to welcome her, were monitoring Akane as the Dark Hour came on the stroke of twelve. Since they were eager to see the true extent of her potential, they were using the dorm's surveillance system to see how she would react to the 25th hour. And to their surprise, she didn't show any of the normal signs a person would show in regards to the Dark Hour. She just slept through the hour as if there were no difference to the world around there.
But, if they were somehow able to view her dreams, then they would find something even more abnormal. Namely a large, spacious blue room resembling an over-sized elevator car with blue curtains, carpet and furniture. A large floor meter continuously ticked and spun on the wall Akane was facing. A soft piano melody accompanied by opera singing played in the background from an unseen source. But, more importantly, there was someone, or rather something, wearing a formal suit sitting on the seat opposite hers, someone more startling in appearance than the room itself.
"Welcome," began the mysterious long-nosed man, "to the Velvet Room my dear young lady. My name is Igor, I am delighted to make your acquaintance."
Akane didn't respond. With all the weird stuff that she went through lately, she was at a loss for words. As though he were reading her mind, Igor chuckled and calmly explained to her.
"I can understand your confusion." He spread his long, thin arms wide with his gloved palms outstretched. "After all, this very room exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. But I assure you, this is no mere dream you have experienced countless times before."
With a wave of his hand, a black plastic folder appeared on the circular table in front of Igor. Akane recognised the very document inside after the transparent cover opened by itself, it was the contract that the strange little boy asked her to sign when she arrived at the dorm.
"Only those who have signed the contract are able to enter this place and utilise its services. Henceforth, you shall be welcome in the Velvet Room." With another wave of his hand, the folder closed and vanished. He then perched his elbows on his legs once more, clasping his hands together. "The only thing I ask in return is that you abide by the contract, and assume responsibility for all your actions."
The pieces were slowly starting to form in Akane's mind. The boy and this room are somehow linked. And they want to help her to achieve a certain goal, if the contract anything to go by. The words; "I chooseth this fate of my own free will", and Igor's condition to assume responsibility, gave her the impression that it was something big. Something that she couldn't do without help. But what about her nightmares? How do they factor into it?
Given her location, she decided to ask him about this. "If this place is in between dreams and reality, do you know about what happens in my mind?"
Igor raised an eyebrow at this question. "Why, your thoughts are yours and yours alone unless you choose to share them, of course. If you are asking if I am able to observe the events that occur on both sides of the spectrum, then yes, I can. I am able to see the lives and dreams of any of the Room's guests or potential visitors."
"Then, you know about my nightmares, right? Could you tell me more about them?"
The peculiar man chuckled. "My dear young lady, I am afraid I cannot divulge any more than you already know about the visions you are receiving."
"Why not?" Akane asked indignantly, before she latched on to something else Igor said. "Wait, did you say "visions"? That's what they are?"
"Of course. No nightmare or dream, no matter how vivid, can ever follow a distinct narrative like the one you have experienced."
"I see. But if they are visions, then what are they supposed to tell me?"
Igor shrugged apologetically. "Like I explained, I am afraid I can answer no more. But I will tell you this: All the answers will be provided in due course by the one who shares your dreams."
Akane's mind threw out more questions as she heard the answer. Someone else shared her predicament? Did they know more about the meaning behind those events? Before she could ponder any more, Igor interrupted her train of thought once again.
"Now then, time marches on in your world now. It would be rude of me to keep you here. I hope to see you again soon," he then gestured to his left, "and introduce you to my assistant who, regrettably, is tied up in affairs elsewhere at this moment. Until then, farewell…"
The dream ended slowly and peacefully, the music gently accompanied her as everything faded to black once more. Though she still had many unanswered questions, her last thought before going asleep was to simply go with the flow and hope to figure it all out later.
As Akane slept peacefully in the real world, within the maze-like labyrinth known as Tartarus, the sounds of Shadows dying resonated throughout the cold green corridors of the Thebel block. The alarmingly fast rate of the monsters meeting their doom scared the others to the core. They sensed the killing intent behind each blow and were none too eager to meet the one raining death upon them.
The person in question was Sakuya Shiomi, who ventured into Tartarus out of curiosity. He first saw the ghastly tower the night before he encountered Akihiko, looking upon it in awe as it reached up to the heavens. He decided to take a closer look the next day and would've gone in then if he didn't run into the upperclassman. He was unsure as to whether or not this strange after-school group was willing to carve their way through all the Shadows crawling around in order to chase him. So he tailed Akihiko on his patrol last night, taking care not to be noticed. Sure enough, he never went further than the main gate of Gekkoukan, beyond which the infernal tower sprang up. That meant that he would most likely have free reign of the place tonight.
Well, as far as humans were concerned, that is.
"Get lost." He spat as he dealt with his next targets.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The Shadows who were grouped around the entrance to a branching corridor suddenly evaporated into a black mist after being hit by multiple fiery blasts. Sakuya groaned in exhaustion as he staggereded past the scorch marks and down the corridor branching to the left, glancing in all directions for any further threats as he went on.
"I really need to rethink my wardrobe." He said while looking down at his sweater and jeans, which were currently drenched with sweat. "This getup is not made for strenuous workouts…"
Despite that, Sakuya thought he did pretty well for a first-timer. His powers were strong and the short sword he picked up from a silver briefcase a few moments ago seemed to work well against the Shadows when he went in for physical attacks. Probably because it was engineered to fight them, if the "Kirijo Group" stamp on the scabbard and hilt was anything to go by. He also managed to get some interesting items and cash from similar briefcases. Jokingly, it made him think that the tower was a large pawnbroker's shop run by the Shadows.
But the benefits were offset by the fact he was hopelessly lost most of the time. It seemed as though each floor shifted by itself each time he went upstairs, the staircase sealing up behind him after he got to the top. The layout was completely random, meaning he had to quickly figure out where he was at all times. And the constant, ominous echo of chains rattling in the background followed by an encroaching sense of dread chilled him to the bone. This would have been so much easier if only someone were there to guide him…
Thankfully, he had not been on this floor for too long. He had a bit of breathing space for him to quickly explore the area and get out as soon as he could. He didn't notice it before, but being in the Dark Hour sapped his strength faster whenever he used his powers. Though he kept himself in good physical and mental condition, he was on the verge of collapsing into a puddle of his own sweat. But his willpower drove him to continue until he found a way out. There was no way he would let himself die in such an undignified manner.
Fortunately, it seemed that the exit might be right in front of him. Once again, he came across this strange gold machine on the floor with a glowing green inverted dome in the centre. Sakuya kept finding these things scattered around the place, but was unsure of what to do with them. It didn't help that the Shadows rushed him en masse every other time he found one. But now he could take a closer look at it, he noticed that it looked like a smaller-scale version of a similar gold machine he found in the spacious lobby of the first floor, though this one didn't have an access panel attached to an arching metal tube.
"This some kind of teleporter?" Thought Sakuya. "Well, the only thing I can do at this point is test it out. I've got nothing to lose at the moment, except my life, of course. I just hope I'll still have all my limbs attached when I come out the other side."
With his mind made up, Sakuya took one step towards the device…
BANG!
"WAAAGH!"
…Only to slip in a puddle of blood and fall face-first into the ground. Just in time before a bullet made of concentrated energy struck the wall in front of him, on the same level his head was when he was standing.
"Huh, and people say that spilling blood is never the best solution." He joked, slowly getting up to look at what shot at him.
Turning around, Sakuya could make out the shape of a ridiculously long gun barrel emerging from the gloom of the corridor behind him. It then moved closer, accompanied by the familiar sound of chains rattling. Sakuya stood his ground, curious to come face to face with whatever had been aggressively stalking him throughout the tower. That, and because his body was so tense from the fear radiating from the other end of corridor that he couldn't move. And when the shooter did become visible, it only panicked the blue-haired boy even more.
"YOU!? It can't be…!"
A bloodied head wrapped in a white execution hood with only one yellow eye showing, a rope around the neck to tie the hood in place, a tattered black long tailed double-breasted duster with bloodstains around the collar, a pair of floating iron chains crossed over the body in an x-shape, and a pair of black leather gloves grasping at two revolvers with three-metre barrels.
The abomination known as The Reaper had reared its ugly head to play. And it had only one thing to say before it levelled both of its guns at its target:
"Traitoooooooorrrr…"
Not wasting any time, Sakuya turned and dove for the machine. However, The Reaper was anticipating this and let loose a barrage of shots. They screamed through the air towards Sakuya's body, milliseconds away from impact. Just as the first bullet hit his left biceps, his hand touched the device and he was instantly teleported back to the entrance, just in time to avoid the other shots as they sped through the space he previously occupied before blowing sizeable chunks out of the wall. The hooded executioner howled in rage, the scream resonated throughout every floor of Tartarus and could be heard as far away as the Moonlight Bridge.
When the flash of green faded, Sakuya collapsed in a heap on the ground floor's teleporter. Tired and wounded, he struggled for each breath as he pulled himself away from the machine, fingers locked around his sword which he somehow managed to keep a hold of during the teleport. After sheathing the blade, he gripped the gruesome wound tight, trying to stem the flow of blood.
"Well, it feels like my limbs are still attached." he thought sarcastically despite the situation. "So I guess that's a bonus."
Not waiting to see if his assailant would follow him through, Sakuya did his best to haul himself up and stagger over to the other side of the staircase leading to the labyrinth's entrance. Anticipating trouble, he left a bag full of supplies next to the strange golden clock there. He just hoped the few medical supplies he managed to get a hold of were enough to fix his arm up. And hope his hand doesn't shake too much when he tries to bandage it up.
But as he neared his supplies, his attention was taken entirely the clock. There was a small alcove near the base. He didn't know what it was for when he first arrived, but now that he looked at it, he strangely thought that this is where money was supposed to go. As an experiment, he dug out five hundred yen of the earnings he took from the tower and placed it inside the alcove. When he did, he noticed that the money disappeared in a flash and the clock's hands rotated slowly in reverse, a pleasant ticking sound accompanied the motion. He was completely mesmerised by the event, his hand dropped from the wound as his mind shifted focus and his body slowly relaxed from the adrenaline rush it went through. Until the clock's hands had once again rested on twelve, he didn't notice that the pain was gone.
"Wait, what!?" He exclaimed and looked at his arm to find that it was completely healed. "Even my clothes are fixed! Did I just reverse time…? *Yawn* Nope, still drowsy. Guess it only works in regards to physical damage."
Sighing in relief, he sat with his back to the clock and unzipped his bag. He bought out a can of soda (Guess which flavour?) and drained it in one go, gasping loudly after he was done.
"I must say," he thought while leaning back, "I didn't expect to see that guy again after all this time. Heh, guess he came back to punish me for my sins. Or maybe he's here for a different purpose… Ah, who knows? The Faceless One has been inactive for a long time. Wouldn't surprise me at all if he had a few contingency plans in the works…"
Sakuya chuckled, amused by the turn of events. He could've sat there all day and pondered what The Reaper's appearance meant, but he had no idea what would happen if he stayed put within Tartarus as the Dark Hour ended. Becoming a pancake was not on his agenda before breakfast. So he placed the empty can on the ground, emptied his pockets and stuffed everything he got from the tower into his duffel bag. After doing that, he crumpled the can and put it on top of the loot before zipping up the bag and hooking the strap over his shoulder. It took a while, but he manage to will himself back on his feet and stagger out of the tower, still dizzy from exhaustion despite the amount of sugar in his system.
He had climbed over the locked gate to get here, since he didn't have the key. And now he wished he did, climbing back over with serious fatigue was going to be murder. After flinging his bag over and clambering over to the other side, his body finally gave out from exhaustion and he collapsed as soon as his feet touched the ground. He laid there on his side on his side, unable to move. And he would've stayed there all night if someone didn't swing by the entrance a minute later. Someone who heard The Reaper bellow earlier and came to investigate.
"You idiot. Takin' on Tartarus all by yourself?" Rebuked the young man in the maroon coat, before muttering another as he looked to the side. "Can't you keep a lid on the new kids, Aki?"
Sakuya was too drowsy to respond, though he realised from what the stranger said that he just encountered someone who knew Akihiko. Before passing out completely, he managed to formulate an appropriate response to new bit of information:
"Aw, nuts…"
The Dark Hour had ended just as suddenly as it began, the danger it presented had passed and Akihiko came back from his patrol just after it finished, before making his way back to the command room to return his equipment. Everything was going as it usually went after a night in the hidden hour…
KA-BAM!
…Which meant that upon hearing the front door of the dorm being kicked open, he and Mitsuru were instantly on alert again. They grabbed their Evokers and raced downstairs to face whatever forced its way inside. They were dreading the thought of finding a rogue Shadow that found its way into the real world, but were instead treated to a familiar, and yet puzzling sight. A tall, brown-haired young man in a maroon pea coat, a black beanie, black pants and brown leather shoes was standing next to the sofa in the longue, frowning at the two as they came down.
"Shinji!?" Akihiko exclaimed.
"Aragaki!?" Mitsuru mirrored.
"I've got something for you guys." Was all Shinjiro said in response, tilting his head towards the sofa after he was done speaking.
The two seniors exchanged confused glances before deciding to investigate. Shinjiro never came to them for anything unless it was on their request. They realised that something important had happened to prompt the former SEES member's appearance, but were caught off-guard by what he bought in. Lying down on the sofa was none other than the unconscious form of Sakuya Shiomi, the person they have tried to get their hands on for too long now. On the coffee table was his bag of goodies and the short sword he found sheathed next to it.
"This guy's got some of your equipment. He one of yours?"
"No." Mitsuru replied. "We have tried to get a hold of him for almost three days now, but he kept on avoiding us. He even attacked Akihiko."
Shinjiro snorted. "Can't say I'm surprised. You're too pushy for your own good, Aki."
That quip earned a glare from Akihiko. "For your information, he froze me when all I did was suggest that he joins us."
"Tch, whatever. I'm not interested in his story. Though I do wanna know what you guys did to make him have a go at Tartarus alone."
"He did WHAT!?"
"Quiet, Akihiko!" Mitsuru snapped. "She's still asleep."
Remembering the presence of Akane upstairs, Akihiko tried to be a bit quieter. "He did what?"
"You heard me the first time." Came Shinjiro's annoyed reply. "I found him passed out in front of the school's gates. He obviously ticked off something inside that place; y'could hear the damn thing yell from the other side of the island. So I went to investigate and there he was, out like a light."
For a moment, there was nothing but silence. Akihiko was staring at his old friend in confusion and disbelief; Mitsuru was looking at the unconscious Sakuya with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed, and Shinjiro was completely disinterested about the whole situation. After a few more seconds of silence, Mitsuru spoke up.
"Thank you for bringing him in. We'll take care of him for now."
All the gloomy teen did in response was grunt and head for the door.
"Wait!" Akihiko called, stopping his friend in his tracks. "Sakuya… that guy you bought in is dangerous. Keep your wits about you if you see him again in the Dark Hour."
"Worry about yourself." Shinjiro said without turning around. "And remember, both you and he owe me for this. I won't pick him up the next time he does something stupid."
And on that note, he left. Akihiko cursed under his breath out of frustration for his old friend. Soon after, Yukari decided to come down after watching the whole exchange using the dorm's surveillance cameras. Neither of the seniors met her gaze, they were both focused on the now closed door.
"Who was that?" She asked, hoping for a response from either of them.
"…An old friend. I'll tell you some other time." Akihiko said with finality in his tone.
Yukari decided not to touch the subject and turned to Mitsuru. "So, we've finally got Sakuya. What should we do with him?"
"Put him in the room at the end of the corridor on the second floor." The redhead responded, glaring down at the unconscious teen. "We'll have some questions for him when he wakes up."
A while later, Sakuya once again walked down the green-tinted corridors of Tartarus. But this time, he walked casually with hands in his pockets. There were no Shadows around this time, nor were there any tell-tale clinks of the Reaper's chains in the background. There wasn't so much as a minute trace of danger to be found in this otherwise dangerous place. Normally, this would keep him on his guard. And yet despite that, he felt strangely at ease. Looking down, he saw that he was still wearing the same clothes as before, but other than that, he had nothing. He frowned upon realising this, no matter what the situation, Sakuya always kept some kind of weapon on his person, be it a spell gem or something easy to conceal like a switchblade knife or brass knuckles. He also couldn't feel any trace of his wallet, keys or phone, so that ruled out him being lured in unprepared. So why on earth would he empty his pockets before going back into this death trap?
Regardless, he decided to keep walking through the eerie corridors in the hellish school building. If there's one thing he learned from his previous visit, it was that procrastination will end up killing you. And he certainly didn't want any free bullet lobotomies courtesy of the tower's prowling menace. As he walked, he noticed that he was unconsciously going the same way he went when he got to the fourth floor of Tartarus. He recognised the route he picked, saw the two rooms he found some of the treasure-holding briefcases, even the junction where he incinerated the Shadows still bore the scorch marks. But instead of turning left towards the teleporter like he did last time, he went right instead, towards the staircase leading to floor five. Climbing the staircase while looking over his shoulder, he once again wondered how he was moving on unopposed.
He soon found his answer the moment he turned around at the top of the stairs. It was because his foe was waiting for him in this large, open hall.
BANGBANGBANG!
The Reaper's guns roared into action once more. Sakuya's battle-tested reflexes were barking out orders to dodge the incoming shots, but he still walked forward in the same casual manner. He had no control over his body's actions, nor could he shed that sense of calm urging him on. But in the end, it didn't matter. All of the shots missed him, on purpose, he suspected. Probably to show that The Reaper was more than capable of blowing his head off should the opportunity present itself.
The thing in question floated into view, smoke billowing from each of its revolvers. It held its guns off to the side, showing that it was not intending to kill Sakuya this time no matter how much it wanted to. Both of them stopped within three feet of each other, their eyes locking as both sized each other up.
"Now I get it. He wants a private talk." Sakuya figured out in his head. He then kicked off the conversation by making small talk. "So, old buddy. How's life after death treating you? They don't work you too hard now, do they?"
Receiving no response, he sighed and decided to change the subject. "I'm guessing they're still sore about the whole Seven Sisters thing?"
"You… betrayed us." The executioner responded, its deep, grim voice grating on Sakuya's eardrums like a knife scraping metal. "Your treachery has not been forgotten. But I cannot… claim your life… You are still needed."
"Nice to know I'm wanted." He quipped jovially. "So tell me, what are my orders? I've been shipped out here knowing nothing, other than I've got to win some bet the boss man made."
The Reaper looked around, then upwards as it spoke, as if looking at the tower in its entirety. "A group… will try to reach the Palace… to learn the truth about Tartarus… You are to stand in their path…"
Sakuya shrugged, remarking that he had some other form of motor control. "Simple enough. What if they do find out, though?"
"Let them wallow in despair… Let them experience life… like the ones the Shadows feast on… Then kill them." After saying that, it hefted his revolvers in a threatening way. "I will stalk the halls… keep the best weapons and armour safe... hunt them if they linger… My duty is to execute rogue elements… all of them…"
"That includes me, right?"
He could've sworn that the Reaper had a murderous glint in its single eye when he said that. Well, more murderous than usual, anyway. "Only if… you betray the cause… There will be no second chances… "Sakuya the Dark Blue Moon"… Break your oath… and I shall reap your soul."
As if to enforce the point, it levelled one of his revolvers at Sakuya's face, aiming right between the eyes. But he realised a few seconds later that it was a dual purpose gesture.
"Now… awaken."
BANG!
Everything faded to black instantly.
Apart from the obvious bullet, the last thing to go through Sakuya's mind was thinking about how painful the migraine would be when he woke up.
Author's Note
I added the bit with Igor because first time I wrote this, I powered through the opening chapters, leaving a lot of information out. I also kinda forgot that there were two main focuses of the story, Akane was somewhat left out of the events. So I decided to add that part in to flesh her character out even more and to make up for my rookie mistake.