Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to SIU. Except for my OCs.

Well fuck eh.

Khun

The third floor was much louder compared to the second one. Voices were flying across the plaza in attempts to grab any attention they could. Regulars asking for others to join their team, handing out flyers, desperate to find their footing after the testing floor.

With all this movement, Khun didn't want to be involved. He was sat down with a wall to his back, under a short overhang that connected to some of the other buildings within the plaza. Beside him, was an unconscious Rachel floating in her specially made hover chair. She had still been trying to recover from her fever, but it wasn't getting any better. Shibisu and Hatz were leading most the other regulars for supplies and information, while some of the others went exploring on their own, leaving Khun on his own to watch Rachel. He didn't really mind it, there were still things he had to think about.

That is, he would be thinking if there wasn't so much noise. This was the most secluded place he could find, yet there were still so many regulars around. The third floor was certainly more packed than he expected. Unlike the previous floor, this one was unregulated by any test administrators, and had regulars scampering around as if they were in a marketplace, with the hottest commodity being teammates.

It was similar to how his family had described it to him when he was younger. Other than the 20th floor, the third floor was where most regulars would stop their climb. Some were overwhelmed by the tower's pressure, others were abandoned, and due to how many regulars were gathering up, the floor become immensely populated, and started to create its own culture of fear, distrust, and weakness.

"Excuse me, I couldn't help but notice, but would you happen to be from the Khun family?"

Khun glanced at the voice who had interrupted his thoughts. A regular had walked up to him, wearing a nervous smile, one obviously forced for an impression. Khun hated those types of smiles; he had seen it too much during his childhood.

"Piss off," Khun looked at him with disdain.

"Ah, so you are?" The regular barely missed a beat. "If you would be willing to listen-"

"I'm not. Get out of here."

"Please, if you would at least-"

"If he's not interested, he's not interested. Find somewhere else to freeload." Endorsi interrupted.

"P-princess!" The regular took a few short steps back, then stopped himself.

Endorsi was not impressed. "You better think of taking a few more steps than that."

"Ah, of course. I was just, uh, on my way." He scampered away like a sewage rat caught in view of a flashlight.

"Must be nice to be you, to be able to get rid of regulars so easily," Khun chuckled mirthlessly. "I have to tell them off at least three or four times."

"It's not all that great. The number of people that approach me increase by tenfold anyway," She sat down next to him. "She's not doing any better?" Endorsi gestured to Rachel.

"Not really, fever's not getting any worse, but its not getting any better."

"Hm, and no one else is back?"

"Just you," Khun started to fiddle with his cuff link. "Why are you back anyway? Thought you weren't interested in joining us."

"I wasn't, but after walking around for a bit, there's no way I'd want to team up with anyone of these buffoons. If only the early advancement tests didn't force everyone to sign up with a team..."

"So you came scrambling back after realizing we were the best choices for you?" Khun smirked. "How fickle of you."

"Fuck off, don't flatter yourself," Endorsi retorted.

"That kind of language doesn't fit a princess. Do you need some soap to wash your mouth?"

Khun prepared for another retort, but it didn't come. He watched her from the side of his eye, her head leaning back against the wall, her shoulders completely flat. Looked like she had no energy to quarrel with him. Well, he probably wasn't one to say anything. He was tired too.

Khun closed his eyes, quietly wishing for Shibisu and the others to come back soon so that they could figure out how to quickly get out of this place. Out of the barrage of sounds, there was something getting louder. Footsteps.

"If you were so eager to get stabbed, you could've just asked the first time," Khun said with as much venom as he could muster.

"Khun, it's me."

Recognizing the voice, Khun opened his eyes to see the only person who wasn't with them once they landed on the floor.

"Shun. Where have you been?" Khun got up to face him. Endorsi followed behind him.

"Got held up on the testing floor? What, did you have issues saying goodbye to that red haired girl?" Endorsi jumped in.

Shun opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Wait, really? I didn't know you guys were like that," Endorsi said.

"We're not. I…" he trailed off. "Where are the others?"

"They went to grab some supplies and find some information about the floor test," Khun replied. He wanted to ask more about why Shun was late but figured this wasn't the time to pry.

"Wait, wait, can we go back to this, were you really just late because you were talking to that girl?" Endorsi doubled down.

Apparently, she didn't think the same.

"I wasn't voluntarily staying back. Hansung Yu must've left me behind on purpose, and she just kind of showed up after."

"Oh," Endorsi seemed disappointed. "So, were you not saying goodbye? Does that mean that the girl was the one that wanted to say goodbye? But seeing that you didn't want to talk about the goodbye," She gasped. "Shun are you a heartbreaker?"

"I'm telling you, we weren't like that!" Shun raised his voice a little, but within the cacophony of voices rolling around, it didn't make much of a difference. He was getting uncomfortable, but Khun didn't really give it much thought. He wanted to see what else Endorsi could dig out of him. "Look, I don't know why she wanted to see me off like that, but I didn't want any part of it. She should've just left me alone."

Endorsi whistled. "Bad breakup, I see."

Shun's face turned red. If it was from embarrassment or frustration, Khun couldn't tell, but before Shun could make another comment, an arm slung over his shoulder.

"Well, look who finally showed up," Shibisu smiled. The rest of the group that went out for reconnaissance followed shortly behind him. Shun looked thankful that they had been interrupted.

Khun roughly looked over the ones that had come back. "I assume the ones who wanted to go their separate ways went off?"

"Yeah, but really, with everyone we have here, we don't need to worry about it," Shibisu replied.

Honestly, he was right. There were more people present than he thought there would've been. The two princesses, Hatz, Shun, Laure who was being carried by Amigo, Shibisu, Sunwoo Nare, and Chunhwa. The other regulars must've been enticed by other teams they thought were stronger or simply didn't want to be tied down.

"Rak went off on his own as well?" Khun asked.

Sunwoo Nare nodded, "he said he needed to find other prey. The green pickle went with him."

Khun sighed. He figured it would be like this. But he couldn't dwell on it. They needed to get going. The sooner they made it up to the next few floors, the more resources Khun would have at his disposal. "Well, no sense in waiting around. What did you guys find out about the floor test?"

4th floor

With his feet up on the desk, Khun was sat in his room, idly scrolling through the news on his lighthouse. The third-floor test wasn't anything difficult, just a simple capture the flag game set in ruins, far overgrown with greenery. For most the upcoming floor tests, Khun expected brute force to be able to handle everything they needed.

There were less and less articles being written about the higher floors, anything that could be found above the 50th floor was filled with propaganda. Khun could only assume something was about to happen. This happened every time a major conflict popped up, news outlets would become silent, or were forced to be.

But realistically, he shouldn't focus so much on what was happening up there. There was enough happening down here.

A soft rap came from his door. Aptly timed, Khun thought.

"Come in." Khun didn't look up from the lighthouse. There were light sounds of scuffled footsteps stepping into the room.

"We need to talk."

From the corner of his eye, Khun could make up the yellow clothes of princess Endorsi closing the door behind her. "Do we?"

"About Shun."

"What about him?"

"About how there are all these strange things happening around him? How almost every peculiar event that's happened has been with him always being in the middle of it?"

"Wow, aren't you suspicious."

"Yeah, I am. I bet you are too."

"Everyone has something to hide. We're not climbing this tower together to become best friends or find out each other's secrets, we're doing it because we are strong. And when someone stronger comes along, we'll probably leave each other. So why should we be the ones to question what's going on with him? Maybe if you want him to open up, you should be the first one to share, princess. After all, it's not common for someone not of the ten great families to become a jahad princess."

Her expression darkened. Khun expected it wouldn't be long before she stormed out and he could go back to some peace and quiet.

But she didn't move. She even started to smile. "Isn't that funny. You talk big about not making best friends, yet you're willing to risk your life to fulfill your dead friend's dream. You're a joke."

Khun stiffened. "What do you want Endorsi?

"I want an eye to be kept on Shun."

"…keeping your competition on watch already?"

"It's not like that, for now at least. I just think it'd be good for us to be wary."

"Are you scared? Of him?"

Endorsi crossed her arms and scowled. "Scared would be overselling it. But you felt the same thing I did back during the crown game. It's not something to ignore. Besides, I'm sure both of us have questions we'd love answered. Killing two birds with one stone."

Khun couldn't deny her. Obviously, it was a good idea to keep tabs on him. "It's a shame. It's not something I wanted to do so soon."

"So, you were planning on doing it anyway," Endorsi raised an eyebrow. "Why're you hesitating then?"

"Maybe I just wanted to have a break for a bit," his voice slipped out of his mouth before he could catch it.

A soft silence settled in the room. "You really miss him, don't you?"

"Seems like you feel the same."

"Not really," she replied quickly. "I just didn't expect my first date to be cut short."

Khun eyed her for a moment before leaning back in his chair and turned his gaze to the ceiling. Strange princess.

"Look, just keep an eye on him. I'll be doing the same. The more we know about Shun the better." By the time she finished her last sentence, she was out the door.

Keep an eye on him. It'd be easier to have a lighthouse check up on him every now and again. But with one always on his person, and his other keeping watch on Rachel, he'd have to obtain another and learn how to operate all three at once. It was a little earlier than he'd expected, but Endorsi was right. Best to do what is needed before it's too late.

Suddenly, the lighthouse in front of him lit up. There was movement caught from the other lighthouse. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear apparently. But why was he showing up in Rachel's room?

It had been a few days, or a week. Or maybe she was completely wrong, and it had only been a few hours, Rachel couldn't tell. Her sense of time was messed up. She also couldn't remember being moved from either the bed or the hoverchair. She could only grasp little glimpses of memory of various things happening. The loud voices while moving through a crowd, sitting in the middle of a forest, and eventually being carried into a quiet bedroom.

She kept her eyes closed. Although the fever had gone down, and Rachel had felt her appetite rise, she didn't want to wake just yet. She wished that she could be asleep until she could open her eyes to the stars at the very top of the tower.

When she did feel ready to open her eyes, she was met with a blurry reality. One that slowly gained focus until she could grasp who else was sat in the room.

"I have to wake up to you again?" she spoke softly, half of it just being for herself.

"You're awake," Shun flatly said, as if he had been waiting there for hours on end. Maybe he had been. Creepy. "How are you feeling?"

"Better now. A little hungry though."

Shun reached out to his side and grabbed a plate of a few sandwiches and a muffin. Taking a few steps, he handed her the plate and Rachel could really feel the hunger begin to hit. She took a few bites out of the sandwiches before noticing another plate sitting beside Shun. One untouched with rice and curry.

He must've noticed her gaze. "I was going to give you this plate, but it's long been cold. Besides, figured those were easier to eat."

How thoughtful. Rachel suddenly felt slightly on edge. Why the hell was he being nice to her? Last time they met he was being a real ass. All this just seemed…off. Taking a closer look at him, he looked worse than before. Bags had only become darker, and his hair was in disarray.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked between bites.

"From the 3rd floor, it's only been about two days. We were lucky to find some open spots in the 4th floor advancement applications. Having a princess of Jahad and a few members from the ten great families didn't hurt," he chuckled. "But now we have to wait a week for the 5th-floor advancement test to run again."

A much quicker ascent than they had on the second floor. Must be because the test administrators don't have to teach basic training and knowledge to the regulars.

Rachel narrowed her eyes and reeled in her drifting thoughts. "Have you been sleeping at all?"

He shrugged. "Some nights, you just can't fall asleep."

Some nights? Looks more like the past week. She looked at the other plate of food. Was that his? Was he not eating either?

She finished off her food and asked for some water.

"So, what do you want?" she asked, putting down the cup of water.

He pursed his lips and brought his hands together, still thinking what to say. "Did you actually not push Bam in the guardian test?"

"Didn't I say it before? No, I didn't push him off."

He twitched, but didn't say anything. Something about that unnerved Rachel. But the thing he did next unnerved her even more.

He slowly dipped his head, then violent flipped it towards the ceiling, laughing along the way. It wasn't a cheery laugh, nor a sad one. She was about to call it a crazy or even a maniacal laugh, but something about it seemed, almost familiar. Then she realized.

It was anguish.

When he finished, he pulled his head into his hands. It looked like he was about to cry. "Who did then?" he whispered, so soft she almost didn't catch his words.

"I don't know. When I…failed, a black tentacle shot into the bubble to grab Bam whole before dragging him down." She was careful with her words, she didn't know if anything would set him off.

"You don't know," he repeated. "That's rich."

A bead of sweat ran down the back of her neck. Did she say something wrong?

Before the air got any thicker, he stood up slowly and sauntered towards the door.

"Shun, where… where are you going?" she asked.

He turned his head, and Rachel could feel herself regretting her words. She didn't know if it was the lack of sleep, lack of food, the shock of what he'd just heard, or a combination of all three, but something in his face caused shivers to run up her spine. His eyes were bereft of life, and looked like they could have dropped out of his skull at anytime.

Without saying a word, he turned back and made his way out of the door.

Khun brought his hands together and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumbs. He didn't believe his day could have got any longer, but then he overheard their conversation. He almost wanted to forget about it and handle it another day. But his head wouldn't allow him to.

Just before it was time to move up to the third floor, Khun had met up with Lero Ro. He told Khun that he asked a doctor to come over to check on Rachel's legs, but that the doctor had said there was nothing wrong with them. That she could even run with them.

Khun had contemplated why Rachel would've lied about her legs, and most of his theories came to the cruel conclusion that she had killed his best friend. But now things have turned from something cruel to something a lot worse.

Shun knew that Rachel could still use her legs.

He knew that she was lying about her legs and didn't tell anyone else.

They were the ones that killed Bam.

Calm down Khun, is what he told himself. But truthfully, he wanted nothing more than to rip apart their heads from their bodies in that moment. He probably wouldn't be trying to keep a level head unless they hadn't brought up that Rachel wasn't the one to push off Bam.

Was it even true? Does that matter? She still wanted to kill Bam, she said she failed. She should be killed. Black tentacle? Shun didn't know either? A flurry of thoughts and emotions rushed through Khun. He hadn't felt this blend of emotions in a long time. He so dearly wanted to take the easy route and slowly take his revenge on them both, but there were too many questions being raised.

He sat back and sighed.

You've left me with quite the mess Bam, Khun thought. Why'd you have to go and leave so soon?

Something went off in Khun's head the moment he finished that thought. Bam was dead right? They were told that nothing was found at the bottom of the fishbowl, but no one found a body. This kind of wishful thinking would've usually been against Khun's rationale, but there was more information now.

Rachel had said she had failed. Did she try to push Bam off and fail? Why did she stop? Khun waved it off, the specifics weren't important, what was important was the fact that Bam had stayed within the bubble to the point where this 'black tentacle' interfered. Did the bull have tentacles? Whatever it was, why is Rachel alive and well? Was it targeting Bam?

Khun eyes widened. Of course, this didn't mean that Bam was alive, Khun knew there were a considerable number of scenarios in which Bam was dead.

But… Bam could be alive.

Khun laughed at himself. Maybe Endorsi was right, maybe he was a joke. Bam could be alive? When was the last time he felt this naïve?

Still, it could be real.

A/N

Honestly reading through some previous chapters I can safely say, this fic does not have that good of writing lol. But whatever, I think I'll still have fun with what's coming. Been working on something for the MAL x honey feed writing contest, hopefully, that will have way better writing.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks for reading.