Author's Note: Not much to say, had to drop a nasty math class, which means I have less worries on my back.
The Story So Far: They have arrived at the headquarters of the Elders of Northern Europe, the place where Hiruma is being held. After hearing about the horrible fate of Dalboz, Zork's father, the group is now more determined than ever to get Hiruma back. Sena is still unconscious.
Hidden
By: Bar-Ohki
Chapter 24: Ishimaru, the Unnoticed
"So this is it." Juumonji commented as they stepped off the bus.
"Looks very plain." Kuroki added.
"Like Ishimaru-sempai." Togano agreed.
"…Where is Ishimaru-sempai?" Monta asked. "Was he with us?"
Everyone looked around and somehow missed that Ishimaru was standing right in the middle of them, waving his arms and screaming.
"…I know he has a small presence, but this is absurd!" Zork muttered as he looked around, somehow missing the fact that Ishimaru was standing right in front of him.
In frustration, Ishimaru pinched Zork, making the boy yelp. Zork turned and looked Ishimaru in the eye, startled.
"Found him…." Zork muttered.
"Where is he?" Togano asked as he looked around.
"…You should take that cloak off." Zork suggested, having realized the problem. Ishimaru blinked once and took the cloak off. People started noticing him again.
"You were right there?" Musashi looked confused.
"Why did you take your cloak off?" Shin asked, confused.
"…It made me invisible." Ishimaru remarked. Doburoku examinied the cloak closely.
"No, it amplified your physical characteristics." Doburoku corrected. "If you looked intimidating to others, this cloak would make you several times more intimidating."
"…So it makes Ishimaru less unnoticeable?" Juumonji blinked, stunned by the thought.
"…Why don't you scout ahead?" Shin suggested.
"Umm… okay." Ishimaru agreed. He threw the cloak back on and began to move towards the building.
"Take the map!" Doburoku yelled before Ishimaru could get too far. The track star quickly came back, took the map, and walked into the building hearing 'where'd your map go?'. Ishimaru used the map to find the entrance into the magical part of the building. It was a janitor's closet and fortunately the door was unlocked.
On the other side of the brooms was a small lever, Ishimaru pulled it, causing the wall to open up and reveal a large ballroom. Ishimaru checked his map and headed to the far end of the ballroom where he found a small black door. Beyond the black door were stone stairs.
Ishimaru descended the stairs without any difficultly. It was remarkable how he had not run into any people so far. Upon reaching the bottom of the stair, Ishimaru found himself in a place that reminded him of the pictures of dungeons out of his childhood fairytale books. Carefully, Ishimaru walked around, glancing into the cells as he went. For the most part they were dark and empty. The ones that were lit usually had something in them; strange looking objects that made your skin crawl. There was a wooden doorway in the middle of the corridor. The door was open and beyond it Ishimaru could see a hospital-looking corridor.
Doburoku's map told him to go into the doorway, so Ishimaru did. The doors here looked like hospital wards, each one having a little window. The lit ones had things that moved in them, mostly unrecognizable horrors, but moving things all the same. Ishimaru continued his way down the corridor, feeling slightly sick, until he almost crashed into the first human he had seen since he walked into the building.
She had long, dark brown hair and pale green eyes. She wore a lab coat and a concerned frown. Of course, she was completely oblivious to Ishimaru's presence. Carefully the runner circled her, trying to figure out what she was doing, what she was thinking.
"Hmm…." The woman muttered, trying to figure something out. She turned and pressed a secret button on the wall, which opened up a computer terminal on the other side of the room. She dashed over to the terminal and started typing, logging into the system. Ishimaru watched her as she pulled up a file.
Hiruma's file.
It appears as though the Elders of Northern Europe had been watching Hiruma for several years and collected a lot of information on him, including his list of slaves. The woman seemed to be intently reading Hiruma's list of 'close friends'. Much to his surprise, Ishimaru was on that list.
"If only…." The woman muttered, continuing to frown. She shook her head and put the computer away, letting it slide back into the wall. After taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, the woman marched down the hall. Curious, Ishimaru followed her down the hall. She stopped outside the final door.
It wasn't really a door as such, it was more like an airlock. Carefully the woman began to unlock the large metal contraption that had strange things sticking out of it in a complex pattern. And by strange things we mean anything from a rubber duck to a half-eaten shoe to a piece of coal. Once the door was open there was another wooden door, this one had a much simpler lock on it (just a key).
And after the woman opened that door, Ishimaru got his first look at Hiruma.
It wasn't a pretty sight.
_=_=_=_=_
Ishimaru has found Hiruma! But what has befallen our beloved quarterback?