"She can sing like this?!" Tomi could only stare in shock. Saiki was hitting every single vocal pitch in a tricky song with complete perfection. Kiryu was singing with her for a duet, and the result was astounding. When the song ended, they were both applauded for it.
"We are definitely going to have a good partnership," Kiryu chuckled at Saiki. She nodded with her own smile and looked at the entrance to the bar.
"Hey! I got the text. So...this is the secret weapon of the Tojo Clan, eh?" a slender man with a thinly styled mustache walked in. His black hair was slicked back with an undercut with shaved sides, and he adjusted his tinted, round glasses. He mainly wore a black leather jacket over an orange print shirt with grey shorts over black tights. His gold jewelry and small hoop earrings seemed to accent the rest of his attire, and he sat down with complete intrigue with his white sneakers off the floor.
"Possibly..." Saiki said and gave a small smirk.
"He's an ally," Kiryu nodded.
"Ah. You can do the talking," she nodded back.
"I'm curious of what the tattoo looks like," the man started.
"Zhao, you need to stop," Seonhee warned. "I saw...some of her methods of attack. She even got the drop on Joongi right in front of me. Don't fuck with her. She's the real deal."
"Really?!" Zhao asked with complete surprise.
"She did. My ankles still sting!" the white-haired man grimaced.
"We're back," Nanba said when he walked in with Adachi. "Those three men made it just in time to recover. They needed the extra blood, though."
"At least they lived," Seonhee nodded.
"Okay, I need to know what this little firecracker can do-!" Zhao started before finding himself staring at the six foot long scythe weapon half an inch away from his face. "Ah...oh shit..."
"Saiki. I get it. You had to defend yourself. Please put it back?" Kiryu sighed. She looked at him with a hard frown. She had the weapon held in one hand, and that actually had him a bit fascinated. "Huh. Is that lightweight?"
"Very," she grinned.
"Can I?" he asked. She laughed softly and let him grip the pole. "Huh! This only weighs like...five pounds...?!"
"About that much," she grinned a bit more. "It's a rather intricate alloy that I was able to make with a lot of experimentation."
"I can tell," he mused and gave the scythe back to her. Zhao watched how the blade swiftly folded back into itself with awe. She kept the pole extended, though, until she knew it was safe to continue.
"Can you make me a weapon?!" he had to ask.
"Maybe. If you treat me with some respect. It hardly ever happened before, so...I may as well take advantage of that option now," she said with a narrowed gaze. Kiryu moved to stand in front of her and cross his arms over his chest.
"You go through me to get anything from her. She's had a really hard past. And I was completely unaware of it while it was happening. All under my nose, too. She currently works for me now. You want something from her? You clear it with me. Got it?" Kiryu said with complete defensive protection.
"I am curious about something. You took out Joongi with a whip. Where is it?" Seonhee asked. Saiki smiled, jumped onto the pole to show it was still extended and now standing perfectly balanced for her. The blade was gone, but she pulled up on the very top of the pole to reveal the bladed whip that was stored within it. "I want one! That is awesome!"
"We'll see," Kiryu smirked at her. Then he looked up at Saiki now that she was a bit above him from the pole height. "How do you get the whip back into that? Whips are flimsy, right?"
"Magnets," Saiki grinned and flicked the whip to land onto the top of the pole. A strong, magnetic pull formed around the bladed tips to seal the whip back into the pole. "I press a button to turn off the magnets. All of the controls are seamless to keep from getting caught on things. It's...very complex stuff."
"I will fucking pay you to make one for me!" Seonhee said quickly.
"Not yet. Maybe when we get her back to what's left of the Tojo headquarters. I'm sure she has a weapons shop there hidden away, right?" Kiryu asked. Saiki nodded to show it was true.
"We're here! The party can start now!" a lean, slender Japanese man with an eye patch sporting a silver snake decoration grinned on walking in. The other two with him nodded to the others there. Then the three men paused in complete shock on seeing Saiki on the standing silver pole. "Who...the fuck...is that...?"
"My new employee. Don't mess with her. She's a fellow yakuza with us. She's also a former Tojo Clan member and came to me for help. I have a contract with her. A verbal one, but it's needed until I can get one done in writing. It's also to ensure everyone's safety around her. Is Chi-chan almost here?" Kiryu asked and looked at Kasuga.
"She just texted that she was on her way," Kasuga nodded.
"Do I know you?" one of the men in a heavy, grey overshirt asked.
"I don't know. Do you?" Saiki asked with her own form of challenge.
"Oh...she's a bit frisky, eh...?" the man with the eye patch grinned.
"Goro...don't!" Kiryu warned.
"Do I have to kick his ass?" Saiki mused. She tapped on the pole for the scythe to suddenly reveal itself again to flare out behind Kiryu.
"Fuck...the Headhunter...!" the third guy breathed out with intense shock. "The Headhunter is alive?! And...a girl...?!"
"Saiki!" Kiryu said sharply. She seemed to pout, but the scythe was quickly put away. "To my side. Now."
"Very well..." she murmured and moved to stand next to him.
"Put your weapon at your side, please," he muttered. She glanced at him, but the pole shrunk to settle back at her hip again.
"Thank you...for saying please..." she whispered soft enough for him to hear. He gave no response on his face, but she could tell he heard her by the tense of slight control he suddenly gave in his stance.
"Playing the pet again?" Goro baited. "I knew this...Headhunter...was always under some form of control, eh?"
"Shut up," Kiryu warned with a hard glare. "It wasn't by choice. She had no idea until it was already too late with that disgusting title. We are going after the one that forced her into doing that. If you insult her again, I'll allow her to go after you. Maybe not kill you, but she'll definitely make you shit your pants."
"Oh, come on! She's a little short bitch!" Goro snickered. Then the other two with him jumped out of the way when Saiki leapt at him with the massive scythe less than a millimeter from his nose. While he was distracted with that, she pulled another weapon out from behind her in the form of small sickle that came up and sliced his upper clothes off in half. Several drops of blood formed over his chest to show exactly how close she was to severing him in half from his groin to his neck.
"Please. Keep it going," she growled in her husky, bubbly tone to show she was in a killing mood. "I'm so close...to your head..."
"Oh shit..." Kasuga hissed at the sight of the sickle ready to slice off Goro's head with a single flick of her wrist.
"Enough. Come back," Kiryu nodded. There was an eerie silence in the bar now while she slowly drew back. She kept her eyes locked on Goro's trembling form. He was still trying to recover from the fact that he almost died within seconds and lived through an attack that fatally killed others.
"Be glad that Kiryu-san made me vow not to kill allies. At least those that he sees as allies," she growled while slowly retreating back. She actually paused at the light touch Kiryu gave to her shoulder when she stood next to him. Now she looked at him with a form of awe. "No one...ever touched me before..."
"Other than the handshake?" Kiryu asked.
"That is different. But like this...no..." she said and returned her gaze to the three men when they regrouped. She set her weapons back to show she was in control, and Kiryu nodded at her to show he was pleased. She blinked at him and gave a small smile. He was mildly elated that she let him touch her shoulder.
"I need you to teach me how you do all of that," Seonhee mused.
"I read books. And I had endless amounts of time to practice," Saiki shrugged. "Anyways, are we done playing?"
"Playing?! You almost gutted me open!" Goro spat out.
"You started it, though," the man in the heavy overshirt said.
"Fuck that, Daigo!" he growled.
"I mean, come on! You saw it, too, right, Taiga? He totally started it," Daigo asked the man in the heavy overcoat.
"Sure did. He totally deserved it," Taiga nodded. "Maybe she should have finished the job, too..."
"Fuck you both!" Goro growled. "Damn this stings! And my fucking clothes! Fuck! Not only are they ruined, but I'm bleeding all over them!"
"Welcome to my world," Joongi sighed.
"Try this ointment. It helps stop bleeding and numbs pain," Nanba said and handed them a tube of medicine.
"Yeah...I'm just gonna shut up..." Tomi said with a small grin.
"Chi-chan is almost here," Kasuga said to change the subject.
"Is anything damaged?" the bar owner asked.
"I don't think so. Except for someone's pride," Seonhee mused. Goro just scowled in response and grumbled.
"Pride is dangerous. Easy to break. Harder to fix," Saiki muttered softly. Kiryu nodded in agreement at that. Then she paused and fixed her glare at a window. "Children are playing outside. They want in to play with the adults."
"Hmm?" Kiryu looked at her. Then he cut his gaze to who she was looking at. "Ugh. Those guys again?"
At the sight of the blond youth with three others on phone cameras, Kasuga even grunted with disgust. Saiki looked at Kiryu as though expecting an order.
"Where to?" Adachi asked when he glanced over.
"The Tojo headquarters. What's left of it. And that group of kids need to go. We can't have them follow us," Kiryu nodded. "Saiki. Stay at my side. Ignore them."
"Of course," she nodded back to him and proceeded to walk in step with him. When they walked out, the blond youth jumped in front of them.
"Hey there! We followed those three guys that were rumored to be part of that nasty yakuza, and would you look at that! It's the Dragon of Dojima! Still alive! I know it's old news now, but maybe he can tell us where he's been, eh? Maybe any new plans worth telling the public?" the youth said with excitement. The phone was now shoved into Kiryu's face to show it was recording. Saiki noticed that nothing was live streaming yet.
"What is the most important thing in your life?" Kiryu asked him. He gave a small sign to Saiki with a roll of his eyes. She kept her face neutral, but her body was tense and ready to strike. The others behind them noticed this and were quick to hide their faces to not give anything away.
"Why, telling the public what's new with stuff like yourself! Oh...maybe that hot babe at your side! Is she your daughter?" the blond asked. Then he gasped with excitement. "Does the Dragon of Dojima have a kid?!"
"No. She's a friend. And she hates phones," Kiryu replied. At that said, the small sickle came out and cut the phone in front of them into a perfect half. Then she twirled herself and turned the other phones held out into shards of scrap. Now Kiryu noticed she had dual scythe weapons and they formed into one. "Okay. You're going to have to show me your arsenal at some point."
"Gladly. I'll even show you how they work..." Saiki said with a grin. She kept her gaze locked on her current targets to show she was ready to lunge. "And it's best to do with living...moving...targets..."
"Hey! You owe me a new phone! Several of them! Fork over 15k in yen now!" the blond raged. Saiki grinned wickedly, formed the two sickles into one for a dual hook blade of sorts and started to reach for the pole at her hip.
"Don't," Kiryu said lightly to get her to pout. Then he looked at the youth and narrowed his gaze. "Leave now. Before I let her finish the job and force you to sit in the hospital for three months. Maybe even a psych ward for the nightmares that are likely to follow."
"Oh, please!" the blond youth started. Then he found himself flat on his back with his friends, clothes in shreds and a massive scythe aimed right for his neck. "Hah! Ah! I'm sorry!"
"I don't believe you," Saiki said with a twisted grin. "You'll just come back again. And again. And again. Like a little fucking cockroach. Little fucking cockroaches need to get squashed...and smeared all over the concrete..."
"Duuude!" one of the youths squealed.
"So...I have a decision to make. If I let you live...and if you come back...I think it would be nice for your viewers to see your head lopped off your body to roll down the street. That's if you get a new phone. So...if you don't want that...leave us...THE FUCK...alone. This is your first...and last...warning," she said with a sadistic smile. Kiryu nodded to her that the job was done. She withdrew and kept the scythe out to show it was ready to be used again if they were threatened. The group fled in sheer terror now, and the weapon was put away. Kiryu gave a small smile and watched Tomi move to his taxi minivan.
"Fuck..." Goro muttered. "If I wasn't so pissed at her, I'd say I have a massive hard on right now..."
"She was the one that skewered Tsukamoto to the wall. And took half of his dick to give as a warning to her jailer to not touch her..." Kiryu muttered. "I'd advise to keep yours hidden."
"Depends on if he has one to hide..." she whispered softly so only he could hear it. Kiryu covered his mouth with his hand to feign sneezing when it was a muffled laugh.
"Kiryu-san! Are you alright?" Kasuga asked.
"I'm fine. Just a small sneezing fit," Kiryu muttered while fishing out his phone to text him what happened. Kasuga gave a weird look and took out his phone. Then he coughed and quickly shoved his phone back in his pocket.
"Hey! Sorry I'm late," a girl with short, black hair said when she stepped out of a nearby cab car. On looking at Saiki, she found herself pausing. "Oh! You're the one Kiryu-san mentioned in the text?"
"Possibly..." Saiki said with a small frown.
"She's an ally. Chi-chan, we are going to the Tojo headquarters. Yes, we know it's destroyed, but there's apparently more underneath it," Kiryu said.
"Are you shitting me?! There's a hidden place under the headquarters?!" Goro asked with pure surprise.
"It's where I was locked away," Saiki said and frowned. "And I remember now. When we step into the first room, I need to teach you all...dancing lessons."
"What?" Nanba asked.
"Ah, yeah..." Adachi seconded.
"It's needed. If you don't know the moves or where to step...the entire place can kill you. Only Kiryu-san is safe as he will walk in step with me. It's made to keep others from following me. There is no fail-safe. No way to stop it. Because I don't know who will follow us in. So, if you all know what to do, you'll be safe. It's important," she warned. "And before you all ask, there is only enough room for two people to walk anywhere at once. That is me and a chosen guest for security."
"And to get out?" Tomi asked.
"There is a way to leave when we reach the main center," she nodded. "It's just getting to it. It's always making your way in. Once we get to the center, it will be easy to go back in through the same way. I need to activate the central path. There is no choice in it. We could use it as a hidden base, too, once it's secured, you know..."
"I'll definitely want to inspect it," Kiryu said with amusement. "Maybe...I won't even need to find a place for rent..."
"It's an idea," Saiki winked at him.
"Why can't Kiryu-san learn the moves with us?" Joongi asked.
"Because he's sick and can't have strenuous activity. I am doing my job to protect him this way," Saiki said with a small smile.
"No complaints from me," Nanba agreed.
"Ooh. Okay. Point made," Kasuga nodded.
"I'm actually very curious," Sa-chan grinned.
"So, Saeko, I thought you knew how to dance already?" Nanba asked her.
"I am never one to decline new dancing techniques!" Sa-chan winked at him. "And if I can teach the girls, well, it's all the better!"
"The girls?" Saiki asked.
"I run a business where girls sit and eat with gentlemen for a small fee. It's a gentlemen's club, but the girls only give good company. Nothing more than that," Sa-chan explained. "If there was, the guy gets kicked out."
"Good to know," Saiki nodded. "Glad I'm not one of those girls. I would have sliced open the offending man and let his beating heart be seen by all."
"She's single, right?" Goro asked Taiga.
"I'd love to see her cut off your dick. Just saying," Taiga replied.
"You need to shut up," Daigo growled. "Don't do anything stupid around her! We can see how she attacks! I'm just...shocked that she's here...alive..."
"What were you told?" Kiryu asked when they got into Tomi's small van. Everyone had to scrunch in to make room, but they didn't want to risk another car from any important conversation needed. Saiki blinked when Kiryu gestured for her to sit in his lap. She gave him an odd look, but she ended up doing so for the ride. When they took off down the road, the conversation started again.
"Could ride in my lap..." Goro grunted.
"Shut up!" Daigo hissed at him. Then he looked over at Kiryu. "The last anyone knew of anything was that the Headhunter was caught and killed by an enemy Clan. It was...incredibly vague, but no one said anything. Hell, I didn't even know the Headhunter was a girl!"
"Surprise..." Saiki murmured. "But it makes me wonder if Dog Catcher was the one that started to spread the lies. To only keep me under his watch and no others. He was...very jealous over me...even though he said he'd never fuck a pet...really odd..."
"Hey. Enough of that," Kiryu muttered.
"Dog Catcher?" Chi-chan asked.
"What I call my jailer. He treated me like a dog. He thinks he catches dogs. The only reason why he let me go after the First Dissolution happened...he knew that the Tojo building would be shut down. He'd have no way to get me supplies. He made me promise to meet him somewhere. Where he'd keep me...safe. And away from prying eyes. So...I agreed. But when he let me out..."
"You fled," Joongi said.
"That I did. As if I'd want to be with such a low piece of scum on the totem pole! I was better off on my own. But I made sure I knew how to get back into my place of confinement when the time was right. As well as a way to get out. So, once I was free, hmm…how to explain this…ah. The way out was an electronic key code lock. I left a small program that copied the code. So, now all I need to do is wait for Dog Catcher to use his key again. This is so I can have a key to come and go whenever I want," Saiki nodded. "The way in for now is just like hitting a power switch. Just enough to get inside."
"You got a book on how to code..." Tomi mused aloud.
"Exactly," Saiki chuckled. "Just enough to make myself a copy of the key."
"If you blow me a kiss right now, I'll forgive you for attacking me," Goro said. "I'm being serious here."
"How about I toss a poisoned dart into the middle of your forehead, instead?" Saiki asked sweetly. Seonhee pursed her lips together and trembled with laughter.
"Ooh...such a fucking tease..." Goro grinned.
"You are not allowed to date any of those I see as allies. And if they turncoat, then you are to definitely not date them. But you can disembowel them," Kiryu grunted out. Kasuga rose a brow and looked at him oddly.
"Are you feeling okay, Kiryu-san?" Zhao asked.
"I think I'm sensing jealousy," Nanba said lightly.
"It's protective measures," Kiryu said mildly. He kept his arms at his sides while Saiki sat in his lap to show he wasn't trying to be romantic with her. "She doesn't want to be with anyone. I'm supporting her decision."
"It's nice...to have choices..." Saiki murmured and looked away.
"What do you mean?" Kiryu asked.
"Um...no. Not here..." she said softly. Then she moved to her ventriloquist tone so only her voice reached him. "The things I need to talk about are...personal. I'm using my singing voice to you. Only you can hear me right now. A lot of things were done without agreement. Including my tattoo..."
"What...?!" Kiryu blinked and looked at her with intense shock.
"Later," she muttered aloud and sighed sadly.
"Did she say something" Sa-chan asked.
"She has an ability to only let her voice be heard by those she wants to hear it. Think...what those people do with puppets..." Kiryu tried to explain.
"Ventriloquism?" Chi-chan asked.
"Yes. That," Kiryu nodded. Joongi frowned, but then he paused with absolute shock and horror at the eerie song that filtered into his head.
"The hell?!" he hissed out.
"What?" Zhao asked. Then he went still at what he heard next.
"If you hear that music...she's after you. Gladly, it's just an example," Kiryu said calmly. Now the others were able to experience it with complete awe.
"That was the weirdest and most awesome thing I ever heard," Tomi grinned while keeping his eyes on the road. Then he blinked. "Ah! Kiryu-san, that was what you heard before when I didn't?!"
"Yep. That was it," Kiryu nodded.
"I think I just came..." Goro shivered.
"That is absolutely disgusting," Taiga grimaced with revulsion. "And you're sitting next to me! Gross..."
"I'm used to that, actually. It can have that effect on ones that only think with something they listen to more than their brain," Saiki said neutrally. Seonhee barked out laughter. Daigo hid his face in his hand. Kasuga blinked and looked out a window to clear his mind.
"What song is that?" Adachi asked.
"Just something I came up with. But I do call it something. The Shadow of Death. A mental song could be much like a shadow. Not many know it's there...except for you. Everyone has a shadow, but not many regard it until it's fully noticeable. Right?" Saiki chuckled darkly.
"There's been a lot that you've gone through," Kiryu frowned.
"Too much," she agreed.
"We're here!" Tomi said. "I'm gonna park this thing a bit far off, though. I don't want to look suspicious and get it towed."
"That's fine," Kiryu agreed. The moment the vehicle parked, the group got out to go over what they had to do next. Saiki hissed and pointed at the ground to reveal a set of tire tracks not even a day old.
"What?!" Kasuga grimaced and walked over to inspect the trail. "These tire tracks are pretty fresh..."
"Dog Catcher..." Saiki seethed with absolute hate.
"You recognize those tracks?" Kiryu asked her.
"I made sure to!" she growled. He lightly touched her shoulder to make her pause and shiver with control.
"Just listen to me. Let me guide you," he said softly. She nodded and let him move in front of her now. He looked over his shoulder at her and said, "He's not here, but judging by the tracks, it looks like he came here a lot to look for you."
"It's why I avoided coming back here. Until I knew..." she whispered.
"You could have just come back here and killed him. Why didn't you?" Taiga asked her. "It would have been easy."
"You forget. He hid things from me. He would never tell me the truth on lots of things. I needed help to...extract the information. Like my pay. He stole it from me. He stole my past from me. I know nothing of my childhood. He knows all of it. I needed help to make him talk. Then I can kill him," she muttered.
"Now I see why we're here," Daigo mused. "Yeah. We can help get that information with all of us ready to tear into him..."
"Now I'm pissed," Goro admitted. "You are a top ranking yakuza. You should have been paid as much as all of us. And this fucker...took that from you?! I want to get the first cut in!"
"As long as I get the last one. With his head..." Saiki nodded. "So...he needs to be able to talk."
"Do you know where he would look for you?" Sa-chan asked.
"I don't. I was always locked up. But...I do have cameras now. I requested them and set them up. Once we get inside..." Saiki smiled lightly.
"We can activate the cameras! Okay. What are we waiting for?" Zhao asked. "Hmm...should have eaten before we left..."
"There is a kitchen in there, but I am unsure of the food quality. If the freezer still works, there may be something," Saiki nodded.
"As a chef, I will inspect that kitchen," Zhao chuckled. "Ah! A trade. You make a weapon for me, I'll teach you how to cook like me. What do ya say?"
"A tempting offer. I'll...think about that," Saiki chuckled.
"First we need to get inside," Kiryu nodded.
"And we need dancing lessons," Sa-chan beamed.
"If it's a new form of cardio, well...I'm curious," Chi-chan grinned.
"Who are you exactly?" Saiki asked while leading them to where the backyard of the Tojo headquarters was.
"Oh. I'm Chitose Fujinomiya," she said. "I'm the eldest daughter of the family. My family is mainly involved in shipping corporations. I was installed as the main board leader, so I am fully on board with ensuring that nothing sneaky goes down again. It's a long story."
"I see. I was almost given a mission to hunt down the one in charge of that company...but then we were...paid off with a sum to have us forget why we were to hunt down that one," Saiki mused. Chi-chan stared at her with shock. "Of course, this was ten years ago."
"That's why we got that sudden influx of cash then!" Kiryu blinked at the memory. "Definitely explains that..."
"Much was hidden from the lower classes of the yakuza. It was sad," Saiki sighed and moved to a charred piece of brick. It looked like it once belonged to some internal ventilation, but she kicked in a small chip. A part of the ground pulled away to reveal stairs going down. "This is just a side entrance. The main entrance was right when you walked into the building. It was in plain sight, but I don't want to go there in case..."
"Dog Catcher. I know," Kiryu nodded.
"There are no lights. Just walk straight and know there are steps. We are safe until we reach the first room. Once the last one comes in, the entrance will seal. Then the lights will come on," Saiki explained and led them all down. "Of course, the room we reach will still be safe, but anywhere else? I need to advise you on what to expect."
"How far down are we going?" Kasuga asked with genuine surprise.
"Thirty feet," she said calmly.
"It's like a tomb..." Tomi frowned.
"Thus it suited me as a prison. Death lived in a place much like a graveyard. One would think. Why would it not seem that way on walking in?" Saiki shrugged. "The main way in had an elevator. So will the way out."
"Good to know," Kiryu nodded. Right after the last one in the group disappeared down the steps, the entrance sealed back up seamlessly. Then small lights lit up to show the rest of the way down. On walking into a large chamber, the ceiling lights came on the rest of the way to show it was a stately receiving room. It had couches, tables with chairs, a television and even a small kitchen.
"This is a front. Just for those to relax in while waiting for me. My room...is through there..." Saiki pointed at a sliding glass door. "There are multiple hallways in a maze. I know the correct path. So does Dog Catcher. I made all of you a map, but this is where the caution lies. Only Kiryu-san and I will be safe. He will be walking in step with me. The walls in the hallways...there are hidden blades and traps all over. Even in the floor. What Dog Catcher doesn't know is that I switched up the traps in different areas."
"You added things he wouldn't know. Not bad," Kiryu nodded.
"Yes. So, you all will know the new traps. Here is how you need to dance," Saiki said and pointed to the first hallway. "It's not really a maze, but a series of hallways that you have to get through in a specific fashion. Each hallway is thirty feet long. You will have to wait five minutes after I leave with Kiryu-san. If you follow right away, the traps trigger and will not quit for ten minutes. You must start at a dead run through the first hallway two at a time. Do not look back. Count thirty seconds between each attempt. It will force the traps to reset. If they don't reset, the traps stay out."
"Motion censored..." Joongi blinked.
"Yes. There is a new trap in the room that adjoins the first hallway to the second. Stay away from the central floor and the walls. Just keep moving. You could even stop to catch your breath, but be mindful if anyone else is following you. There are no real means to share the room space. The second hallway isn't too bad if you know the pattern. You must jump two feet at the start, duck at three feet in and repeat until the end of the hallway.
"Once again, do not touch the walls at the end of the adjoining hallway room or move to the center of the area. That is where the new traps are hidden, and they're all very nasty. So, it's best to simply keep moving. The third hallway is a bit tricky. Walk three steps, hug the wall for two steps, and then move to the other side just as quickly. Do this through the entire hallway," she continued.
"How many hallways are there?!" Tomi grimaced.
"Only four. And it's the fourth one that is extremely dangerous. No matter what you feel. No matter what you see. No matter what you hear. Do not run. You walk. Calmly and steadily. All through the hallway. It is made to make one panic. To bring forth unknown fears and fright right into your mental state. If you run, the floor falls away to a layer of spikes right underneath you," she said with stressed warning. "The floor panels are...extremely sensitive to heavy footfalls."
"Wow..." Sa-chan whispered.
"You'd think physical movement is tough enough. But something that attacks your mental focus? That's nasty," Zhao admitted.
"It's very odd how that floor works, too. It seems to...know...what makes you tremble and shake. There are symbols along the walls that give triggers to one's memory. Not really reading your thoughts, mind you. But it has a lot of familiar things that may be seen daily that spark vile emotions. And then other symbols will turn those emotions against you. If you want to know a tactic...don't look at the walls. Don't look at the ceiling. Stare straight ahead. And ignore anything you might hear," she warned again. "Just don't run."
"So...run through the first floor...dodge things through two floors...walk through the last floor..." Joongi muttered aloud as his own form of a note.
"Is there anything else we need to know?" Chi-chan asked.
"There actually is. Go down that hall one at a time. To avoid...accidentally attacking each other..." Saiki said quietly. "I've watched it happen before through the cameras."
"Shit..." Goro muttered out.
"I'm guessing the room before it is large?" Kasuga asked.
"Yes. You can regroup and even watch each other go through the hall on the screens. When one first steps in, the hallway looks empty. But...a blacklight comes on...and that triggers the events that follows. The cameras do not show the blacklight or what is revealed on the walls. They are night vision and only zone in on the person in the hallway, so you can see how the person is walking through the hallway," Saiki explained. "When I activate the cameras, you'll know that Kiryu-san and I are safe and waiting for all of you. If you keep that thought through the hallway..."
"That can be our focus. I got it," Seonhee nodded.
"Okay. I'm going to walk ahead with Kiryu-san now. The sooner we go, the faster all of this will be behind us. Wait five minutes. Then follow us," Saiki nodded and sighed hard. "And...please be careful. I have no control over this place until you all are with me in the central room. If I try to change anything, I don't know how the hallways would react. I tried to turn them off once to help another..."
"What happened to them?" Kasuga asked.
"They got to the last hallway. And they ran through it..." she winced. "So, some hallways turn off. Others don't. I can turn off the hallways after you get to me, but I'd rather not in case we are followed."
"Okay! Let's get going!" Goro started and paused at how Saiki had already grabbed Kiryu by the hand and hauled him into the hallway sliding door.
"Walk," she said briskly to get him moving. The door already slid shut, and he felt the traps humming to life behind them.
"What...?" he started before glancing at her while walking.
"That one. Goro. I could sense that he was planning to replace you. I had to act swiftly," she muttered. That got Kiryu to almost pause with shock, but she kept pulling him behind her. "Worry later. Walk now."
"Why would he...?" he frowned.
"He's infatuated. It will leave him, but I didn't want your health at risk. I am protecting you. The last hallway would have definitely stopped you from thinking straight. I am helping you avoid that. They have the map. They have the instructions. We will do what we can to guide from afar. Come," she said again. He grimaced hard, but he nodded and continued to walk in step with her. And he never failed to notice how the hallways started to come to life behind them.