Well, here's your next chapter. I'm getting back toward my original length, and apparently my original detail too before my vacation now that I'm writing pretty hardcore again... I hope it's worth it and everyone here enjoys.
Thanks everyone for reading!
Chapter 31 – Onwards and UpwardsThe two girls entered into an eerily silent lobby. Even though it was late, Reina knew there would normally still be plenty of people walking around; plenty of security. However, not even the receptionist was at the high front desk. Their steps seemed to echo among the columns as Reina strode purposefully across the hard floor, Sayu sticking close beside her looking all around, apparently impressed with the size of the hall.
“I see there’s more to this building than you’d think from the outside…” she eventually said in a low voice as if one any louder would be heard by unseen specters in the shadows. “But it seems as if there should be more people here.”
“This means that Miki has done her job,” Reina responded in a normal voice. Sayu stopped dead, and although noticing it, Reina took a few more steps forward before halting herself and turning casually to look at her companion. Oh yes, there was one thing she had forgotten to tell them about.
“Miki?” she asked, though disbelief barely registered in her voice now. Apparently her outlook on things had changed considerably as the evening commenced. “Was she involved in all this before she died?”
“She’s not dead,” Reina explained profoundly, and as if on cue they heard two gruff yells, and two men wielding long swords came rushing at them from those dark shadows.
Reina instantly drew her knives again, still bloodied from earlier, and adopted a preparatory stance, darting her eyes around to see what of her environment she could use in her favor. From the corner of her eye she caught Sayu hunched down as well, baring her fists and casting Reina a curious glance. Reina shook her head. The girl must really be determined to be brave enough to stand up against these men with nothing but her own two hands. Of course Reina’s own two hands would have been enough even if she didn’t have her knives, but Sayu hadn’t had the torturous training to develop that skill.
In a quick and fluid motion, Reina reached down to her ankle and pulled a short dagger from her sock. She tossed it to the girl in pink who smiled gratefully, and the two small musume resumed preparation for the men who were now bearing down on them.
However, their preparation was for naught as blasts that echoed loudly through the oppressive silence rang out to their ears, and both men stumbled and fell to the ground, swords flying, with bullet-holes in their backs. Reina casually knocked away one of the flying swords that had come their direction and subsequently clanged off the reception desk before fluidly resheathing her weapons at her sides, peering into the dark at the direction the shots came from.
One man and one woman, both likely near middle-aged, ran toward them with pistols still cocked and pointed upwards. They didn’t relax when Reina and Sayu came clearer to them, but another low female voice yelled out from behind them that it was safe. Upon hearing it, the two lowered their pistols and stuck them in holsters at their belts, crossing their arms while still looking suspiciously at the two girls before them. Reina glanced over and noticed Sayu still had her dagger raised, so she laid her hand on the girl’s arm. She jumped slightly, but with a look at Reina lowered it and stood erect. However, she gasped softly as three figures walked out from the shadows their rescuers emerged from.
“Will everyone
please stop doing that when they see me?!” Miki complained, rolling her eyes. She, dressed in tight jeans below a dark leather jacket swung open to reveal a bright t-shirt, eventually came to a halt before Reina and Sayu along with Aya, who wore a tight black leather suit with her hair tied back, and Detective Kitamura in his usual trench coat and looking as relaxed as always.
Sayu was staring at the two women as if they had just come back from the dead which, Reina thought, as far as she knew they actually had. Reina herself raised an eyebrow at Aya’s outfit and looked her up and down.
“You did
not wear your outfit from Sukeban Deka here, did you?”
She noticed Miki stifle a snicker, and Aya blushed, shooting her friend a glare as deadly as any she had ever infamously dished out herself. “I
thought it would be appropriate for the situation,” she said in a low and dangerous voice. The girl could pout almost as well as Sayu if she tried. “Mikitty here seems to think I overdid it a little though.” Miki could help herself no longer and burst out laughing, provoking a hard jab to her side from Aya.
Apparently looking for a change in subject, she ignored the other girl’s laughter and stared into the two faces in front of her. “What happened to you two? You have blood all over your face Reina-chan, and Sayumin…” She trailed off as she looked at the bandaged face of the girl she addressed. “Why are you even here?” she finished quietly. At her words, Miki finally stopped laughing and silently peered at them herself.
“My driver attacked us after we left the limo,” Reina said. Aya’s eyes widened, though Miki didn’t look surprised. “And the story about why Sayu is here is too long to tell right now, but Eri and Risa were with us as well. Eririn got injured badly though, and Gaki-san’s taking care of her outside…”
“Do they need help?” Miki asked quickly in a business-like voice.
“Risa called 119,” Reina replied, but Miki shook her head. However, it was the detective who responded, speaking up for the first time after clearing his throat.
“They won’t come,” he said in a low, smooth voice. “Local law enforcement has orders not to come here tonight. What we are doing is rather… out-of-bounds of what would normally be called ‘legal’,” he said, glancing at the two men lying sprawled on the floor near them. “But the administration is more than willing to… overlook… activities here on a ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ basis.”
“We have some medics who we can send to help them,” Miki said, giving a look to the pistol-wielding man and woman, who at it nodded and spun, heading back off into the shadows. “They can also get them to a hospital if need be.”
She turned back toward the two of them, now looking hard at Reina. “I’m sorry you got attacked already. We did our best to clear everyone out.”
Reina shook her head. “There’s nothing you could have done about this one. He was somebody I trusted.” Silence hung in the air for a moment after her words until Aya spoke again.
“I hoped we’d be more successful than we already have,” she said in disappointment. “But we’re barely able to hold onto the ground level, as you can tell.” She brandished an arm at the men on the floor.
“We can’t locate where the inner chambers are either,” Miki said in almost a growl, as if upset with their failure. “Not that we’d be able to get to them…” She glared at the two dead men as if it was all their fault.
“It’s hidden,” Reina said. “And even if you knew where to look, I doubt you’d have much luck finding it. That’s where we take over.” She gave Sayu a glance that was returned coolly, as if the girl knew what she was thinking.
“Are you sure?” Miki asked with a frown, and she looked Sayu’s pinkness up and down. “I can send some of our people with you if you’d like.”
“No,” Reina responded decisively. “You’ll need everyone down here.” That was partly true; mostly, she didn’t want to get anyone else involved. She and Ai themselves would hopefully be enough, and any more would be too many. She hoped Sayu was right in thinking she knew how to take care of herself.
Miki didn’t press the issue, though she did keep looking skeptically at Sayu. “All right,” she grudgingly agreed. “We’ll keep this area free for when you’re done.”
“If we succeed, you’ll not need to bother,” Reina said with a shadowed look to the three she addressed. Miki and Aya both returned her gaze as if they’d never see the two of them again.
“Are you sure about this?” Aya asked softly again.
Reina didn’t respond, but turned away and motioned Sayu to follow. The girl glanced at her and then looked down at the two men below them. “If you’re getting second thoughts, I don’t need…” Reina began, but she stopped speaking as Sayu moved toward the bodies. Before reaching them, she knelt down next to one of the dropped swords. She picked it up carefully, looking the blade up and down. Then she stood, and holding it tightly in her hand gave it a few swipes with flicks of her wrist. Reina watched impassively, even though the girl did surprise her. Miki and Aya were staring as if they’d never seen her before.
Sliding the blade beneath the wide belt around her skirt, she walked back and looked among the four still assembled before turning to Reina. “So are we going or not?” she said in a solemn voice that Reina wouldn’t have even thought was hers except that it was still somewhat high-pitched.
Reina nodded and turned once more toward the elevator, Sayu trailing behind. “Good luck…” the two girls behind them called out, before the sound of their retreating steps echoed through the lobby as well. Arriving at the elevator, Reina pushed the button to go up. She glanced at Sayu, whose eyebrows were narrowed in a frown.
“Are you sure we should be using an
elevator for something like this?” she asked as the sound of it descending could be heard hollowly from within. “Who
knows what they could do to it…”
Reina turned back forward. “If we’re going to be fighting on the way up, I’d rather do it on a flat platform rather than stairs, wouldn’t you? Plus, I’m not even sure if normal stairs would take us where we’re going.”
The two of them were quiet as the elevator descended. Reina thought they must have been holding it at the top floor. If so though, she wondered why they let it come down for them. They must have seen who it was and planned some kind of trap… Well if so, that would be the first of many Reina expected tonight. So as not to over-agitate Sayu, she slouched slightly as if bored.
Eventually they heard it slide behind the steel double doors in front of them and ding its arrival. When the doors slid open, two men stood crouched with different-sized blades brandished in both hands. They let out cries of attack when fully revealed and lunged forward, but Reina was quicker.
Taking advantage of her hands on her waist in the bored pose, she pulled her knives out and flung one at the man who lagged behind slightly and jumped out, spinning to avoid the jabs of the nearer. Almost casually to her, although it would have seemed lightning-quick to an observer such as Sayu, she chopped at his far wrist with her free hand, jerking it back and knocking the shorter blade out of his grip. His other arm and weapon were already overextended past Reina’s small body, and she shoved her own knife into his gut, driving him back slightly as he nearly bent double, but quickly withdrew since he had now been dealt with.
The other man was grunting in pain in an effort to pull his arm away from the elevator wall, which it was stuck to by a dagger through the forearm. She intended to knock the man out with a blow to the head and reclaim her weapon, but before she could get to him the blade of a sword flashed into view and lodged itself into his chest. Reina halted her movement as the man’s grunts turned into blood being coughed up, and she turned to see Sayu holding the weapon pointed straight out with both hands, one foot forward in a stance that was the impetus of her thrust. Her mouth was pursed tightly as she watched the man give his last breaths, and she didn’t withdraw her blade until he became still.
Reina reached up for her dagger, and as she took it from the wall the man fell to the ground to join the other, who was in pain that kept him from moving more than he needed to, but definitely not dead. She watched as Sayu wiped her sword on the clothes of the man she just killed and re-sheathe it beneath her belt.
“I told you I could take care of myself,” she said cooly when she caught Reina watching her.
Since this wasn’t the time to find out what was going on with her, Reina just nodded and the two of them pulled the two men out into the lobby so they could enter the elevator, which they did carefully to avoid slipping on the now blood-streaked floor. Sayu raised a quizzical eyebrow as Reina pushed the button that seemed to be attached to a blank spot between floors twelve and fourteen, and Reina gave her a meaningful look.
“So the place doesn’t even really
exist, huh?” Sayu asked in a voice that wasn’t really questioning. Reina nodded as the elevator lurched upward. “No wonder Ayaya and Mikitty had trouble finding it.”
They watched as the lights ticked slowly upward along with the elevator’s movement. “Best be ready for anything,” Reina said. “Who knows what will be awaiting us when we get up there.” Sayu nodded without hesitation, clearly expecting as much at this point.
They were quiet for another moment as the slow-seeming button lights flashed upward past seven. Debating with herself before speaking, Reina said, “That man back there…” She felt Sayu glance her way. “Why did you kill him? I was about to knock him out, and we could have gotten past just as easily.”
There was a slight pause before Sayu responded in a tight voice, “One of them hurt Eririn…” Reina caught her glance to see her mouth pursed tightly again and that unfamiliar glint in her eye. “And they’re all after you, too… Nobody messes with my friends.”
Once again Reina wondered where all this was coming from, but instead commented, “Still, I do my best not to kill. I care about my friends too and I wish you’d…” She trailed off though as she caught a glance at the button panel, where a light had just flashed next to fourteen with no sign of the elevator stopping. Wary once again, she stared at it hard as it hit fifteen. Wherever it was taking them, she wanted to keep it on her terms. She hurriedly punched the emergency stop button, and the elevator screeched to a halt apparently somewhere just above floor sixteen. Sayu grabbed her arm in order to keep steady, now noticing what she was looking at as well, and didn’t release it until a few seconds after their motion stopped.
Waiting a moment to make sure they weren’t going to start up again, Reina looked around at the plain paneled surfaces of the elevator. Telling Sayu to move to the side, she reached within her vest and pulled out a short and straight knife. Sayu looked at it curiously, since it shone with a gleam much different from that of normal steel. Reina held it in front of her with the point down and smiled at her friend before dropping her knees and thrusting her hands violently downward. The blade cut straight through the floor to the hilt, and with all her strength Reina pulled. As she did, it slid almost smoothly through the hard tile as well as the steel below it, and when she had about a half-meter square cut, she pulled it back, stepped away, and kicked down at the middle. The square fell away down the shaft, leaving a hole gaping into the darkness just large enough to admit one of the small girls.
Reina peered down, lowering her head below the carriage, and saw cables at each corner of the elevator. The door to floor sixteen was just below them, softly bathed in the light shining through the hole. Sayu knelt down to peer with her, but Reina pulled her up and gestured her back to the side. “Stay there,” she said quickly, and she dug in one of her vest pockets. Pulling out a small round object about the size of a hockey puck and with a pin sticking out of the side, she pulled the pin, dropping it down the shaft. Kneeling down quickly, she dropped her arm below their carriage and waited.
One… Reina counted to herself.
Two… With a light flick of her wrist, she tossed it toward the door to floor sixteen and quickly rose up and back, hugging Sayu close. The girl offered a small squeak of protest, but it was quickly drowned out by the sound of a blast and the carriage shaking. Reina stood her ground hard, partially using the other girl for support. Sayu clung to her in return.
It ended almost as fast as it happened, and the elevator steadied until it only vibrated slightly. Reina pulled away, Sayu looking at her with wild eyes, but before the girl could say anything Reina bent down to look below them again. Half the door was torn away, with only charred remains along the side lit by dim light spilling from the hallway beyond. “Come on,” Reina said, and gestured Sayu down to her.
Reina took her hands tightly, looking into her once more set face. “I want you to slide slowly down through the hole,” Reina instructed her. “I’ll hang onto you, and then swing you over through the doorway when you give the signal.” She squeezed the girl’s hands tighter. “From what I’ve seen so far, your arms should be strong enough for it, right?” Sayu nodded. “Ok then, go. We don’t have much time.”
Carefully, which Reina was glad of considering how brash Sayu had been so far about most things, she dropped her legs into the hole and began sliding slowly into it until she finally dropped, hanging suspended with her hands tightly clutched to Reina’s. Reina struggled to hold the girl’s weight. She’d developed quite a bit of strength through her training, though this was testing it much more than she was used to. She was glad the girl was as thin as she was. “Okay, ready?” she asked, then without waiting for Sayu’s nod began swinging her slowly toward the door. Back and forth they went like this for a few seconds until they gathered more of an arc. “Tell me when you’re centered on the door…” Reina said through gritted teeth. Holding the girl was one thing, but swinging her weight was quite a different matter. She saw Sayu begin bending her knees as she swung.
“Ok…” Sayu began on her backswing. “Now!” she cried with a breathless voice. Reina gave one last heave and released her, hoping such a risky trick would work. She also hoped that if she missed, Sayu would have enough presence of mind to at least grasp the cable not far away. She didn’t want to lose another friend tonight. All she heard was a muffled
plop and groan though, and she looked down, rubbing her hyper-extended wrists. She couldn’t see through the door, but Sayu called out that she was okay.
Sighing with relief, her muscles recovering quickly, Reina slipped one leg into the hole herself and looked beneath, where she saw a bar on the side toward the door. She reached out to grab it, and then quickly slid the rest of her body down, swinging by the hand grabbing the bar until her other hand joined it, and in one fluid motion curled her body while releasing her hold and catapulting through the blasted doorway. Unfortunately Sayu was standing right there in concern over her friend, so they both ended up on the floor in a tangle of arms and legs.
“Itai…” Sayu breathed, and upon untwining herself from the girl Reina noticed the bandage on her face was becoming redder again. The fall must have broken open her wound. She appeared to be slightly bruised in other places as well.
Reina offered her a hand, which she took, and she was pulled up. “If I keep on trying to protect you like this Reina-chan, you’ll be the death of me…” She apparently couldn’t help a smirk at the end of that, and Reina smiled.
“You’re the one who insisted in coming along, you silly girl…” Reina responded with suppressed mirth, and she poked the girl in the side.
“Because
obviously you need my help…” she answered prissily, and turned to take in their surroundings.
They were now in what looked like a fairly normal office area. There were partitions separating a multitude of desks, and doors off to the sides for some of the more private offices. They were all quiet now, although papers left out on some desks and equipment whirring seemed to indicate their stewards had left quickly.
“Well,” Reina said. “Now to try and figure out how to get down three floors.” They walked through the tight lanes, keeping close together in case of any surprises, until they came to the entrance to a staircase. “Well, I guess we’re not avoiding stairs after all. Still, two or three floors are better than thirteen…”
They walked out into the well and treaded carefully but quickly down the steps. They passed exits to floors fifteen and fourteen, but where thirteen should have been there was just a plain wall. This didn’t really surprise Reina.
“You can do that thing you did with that odd dagger in the elevator again, right Reina-chan?” Sayu asked curiously. Reina scrutinized the wall. She supposed she could, but she had no idea how thick this wall would be. That dagger was a weapon after all and not designed to be used even for cutting through elevator floors or walls, but she supposed she could try.
She didn’t have time to even bend down to retrieve it though before the wall in front of them exploded from the other side, knocking both girls off their feet and throwing them into the opposite wall. They were lucky they weren’t knocked down the flight of stairs, but with bits of rubble covering them Reina still felt almost every part of her body ache. Sayu seemed unconscious beside her. She willed herself to try and rise, gently brushing debris from her stomach, but then the sound of voices came to her as if they were closing in quickly. She caught glances of hard-looking men emerging from the dim light beyond the broken wall, and she tried to rise more quickly, but for the first time in a long while her body wouldn’t listen to her, and when one of the men reached them and saw she was awake, he clubbed her hard on the side of the head and she fell into darkness.