Chapter Text
Chapter 5: Let’s Go Hunting and Haunting
The Math Maze was more intense than Kunikida expected… or perhaps he was just distracted because Yosano was clinging onto his arm the whole time.
It was obvious that the girl was teasing him on purpose.
The Math Maze was Magical Land’s take on a Fun House, except that to get out of it, guests have to solve Math and Logic questions. If participants choose the wrong answer and the wrong door, they would be led the wrong path, the longer route to get out.
It had been almost an hour of going into one room, staring at a screen with a question, watching Kunikida scribble in a little notebook to figure out the answer, and then choosing one of the four doors with suggested answers on top of them.
Yosano couldn’t believe that such an attraction had an audience but the theme park promised to have something for everyone.
“Kunikida, how do we get out of here? We’ve been solving equations for over an hour! Isn’t there a shortcut we can take to get to the end?”
The doctor squeezed Kunikida’s arm as they entered yet another multi-colored corridor. All the rooms and corridors inside the Math Maze were circus-themed, which made the experience more jarring, Yosano thought.
“It hasn’t been over an hour,” Kunikida corrected her, glancing at his watch. “Plus, the more shortcuts you take, the bigger the chances you make a mistake.”
“Okay, but I’ll decide the next ride! That Haunted Mansion attraction the kids were talking about seemed really interesting!”
The former teacher gasped loudly. “Haunted??!”
“You scared of animatronic ghosts? I’d love to hear you scream…”
“No, thank you!” Kunikida looked away and instead focused on the green door in front of them. It was the next room with the next challenge inside.
Yosano grabbed her colleague’s chin and tilted it towards her again. “Hmmm… How about this — whoever answers the majority of the remaining problems correctly will pick the next ride!”
“Huh?! Are you that confident?”
“It’s worth a try!” Yosano stepped back and offered her hand politely. “We’ll shake on it.”
Kunikida scoffed and shook Yosano’s hand. He wasn’t aware that Yosano had noticed a pattern with the answers. It helped that all the answers were chosen by multiple choice.
Finally, all the hanging around Ranpo while the genius detective solved crimes was paying off. The answers were in the machines themselves. In the Maze, she found distinct marks on each door which were clues leading to the correct answer.
She kept quiet at first and observed Kunikida. His correct answer always led to the one she suspected in the beginning.
“Okay, let’s go! We’ll try this next room!”
As the doors opened, a long logic puzzle flashed on the screen. It was something about a row of houses with different colors and finding out where someone lived.
Kunikida, armed with his notebook and pen, started scribbling. Yosano, on the other hand, walked around the room and at the doors and their handles. Answers flashed on a smaller screen atop every door.
“It’s this first option, the green door.” Yosano pointed to the green one with an English name as the answer.
Kunikida looked up from his notebook. “You figured it out already?”
“Yeah trust me! I mean, if we’re wrong, we just go one space back, taking us to a longer route.”
“Wait, let’s discuss the — ”
But Kunikida’s plea was too late. Yosano dragged him into the next room, where a screen congratulated them for the correct answer. After the congratulatory message, another problem flashed in front of them.
The former Math teacher was dumbfounded. “How did you — ?!”
“Well, I’m still a member of the Armed Detective Agency, Kunikida. Heavy on the detective. I may be the agency’s doctor but I can still solve an equation or a mystery or two!”
She winked at him and Kunikida’s heart leapt.
Unbeknownst to both of them, trapped safely inside the maze, in several places around the theme park, explosives have been set off.
***
Lucy heard sounds of explosions that were too realistic for a movie theater. She hadn’t been to a 4D movie experience herself but she knows the sounds of explosions when she hears one.
“Are those fireworks?” A lady passing in front of the theater asked.
A minute later, several people, some of whom were employees dressed in the theme park uniform, ran out of the 4D Theater building. Viewers of the theater were also running out, screaming.
“Someone set off some bombs inside the theater!”
Lucy pushed her way inside as more people ran out. Then someone caught the sleeve of her shirt.
“Little miss! Don’t go in there!” It was an elderly employee.
Lucy shrugged off the warning. “My friends are in there! And I can help save people!”
The former Guild member couldn’t believe what she was saying herself, but the weretiger’s stubborn idealism rubbed off on her.
When the crowd cleared out, he saw the chaos inside the lobby. Fires were being put out by both staff and guests.
Oh, good, the explosions were not at all big, Lucy thought. It was simply as if a mischievous kid had set off a small firework that caught fire. She noticed that they were all originating from a box-like contraption.
Lucy helped carry buckets of water from the nearby toilet. All the while, she looked around to see if Atsushi or Kyouka were anywhere nearby. She hoped to bump into them as he helped the people in the massive lobby.
But she couldn’t see them. This meant there was only one other location they could be — inside the cinema itself.
She excused herself and told the people she was looking for her friends. The cinema doors were shut tightly and it took her and several others to pry it open.
Why are so many people still in their seats?!
They were wearing these goggles that covered half their faces. And these masks were bolted onto the seats. Because of the 4D experience and to prevent people from moving around in their seats too much, they were also fastened to their seats. And because of the bombs that triggered a malfunction inside the cinema, the guests were locked and trapped in their seats.
“We’re trying to get them out!” A voice bellowed from somewhere near the screen of the theater.
Lucy looked ahead. It was a voice she knew very well.
“Werekitty!”
Atsushi was in his half-tiger form and he was trying to shield the people from a man dressed in a dark maintenance uniform who kept appearing and disappearing.
Beside him, Kyouka was also chasing after what seemed to be a twin of the man. And her Demon Snow was doing the same thing.
“And you’re here too, little shrimp!”
Behind her was a boy she also recognized as a member of the mafia. What he was doing shocked her, though. It seemed as if he was also protecting the people from the man who was shooting at the crowd. The man’s cloth and his ability Rashomon swallowed the bullets aimed their way, as well as more of the boxes Lucy saw from outside.
“Emo cloth boy! Behind you!” Lucy shouted as another maintenance man, his face obscured by a cap, appeared behind Akutagawa.
Akutagawa spun around in time to block the attack. Instead of thanking Lucy, he snapped back, “Is that your poor attempt at a jab? The detective agency’s friends never struck me as creative. How about you lend us a hand instead of standing there like a helpless fool?”
“Can you transport all of them to Anne’s room?” Atsushi suggested, breathless as he kept jumping around the cinema.
Lucy was about to tell him that there was a danger of transporting the attackers as well especially since they were in such a big crowd. It was definitely doable but she needed to concentrate properly. She had done it in a busy intersection in Yokohama before too. She could even transport the whole building out of there. But before she could say anything, another maintenance guy appeared out of nowhere right in front of her.
“Where are they coming from?!” Lucy shouted as she jumped away. “You’re starting to piss me off, mister weirdo!”
“Another one behind you!” Kyouka warned her just in time and Lucy dropped to her knees to avoid a gunshot.
Lucy gritted her teeth at the man as she stood up in defiance. Without warning, she activated her ability. In the next second, she, the man, and his copies were alone in Anne’s room. They looked around, confused, and then at one another.
“I thought it may be easier just getting you weirdos into the room!”
She walked to her throne-like chair and sat. Then, one by one, the maintenance guys disappeared. Lucy’s eyes widened as the men disappeared like the morning mist.
“WHAT???!?!!”
Was the ability user a teleporter? Or were they fake? Were they even real? That was the only explanation of why they could have escaped.
Lucy deactivated Anne’s room and she was back in the cinema. However, several copies of the man were left behind, who were fighting with Atsushi, Kyouka, and Akutagawa.
“I thought I got rid of all of them!” Lucy bellowed in disbelief.
“More reappeared when you went to Anne’s room,” Kyouka explained as she and Demon Snow continued to ward off the attackers.
“But there were a few seconds that they were all missing,” Atsushi clarified.
“The weretiger’s observation is accurate,” Akutagawa agreed as his Rashoumon squeezed the life out of five attackers, only to reappear behind him the next moment.
Lucy looked around before dodging another attacker — another clone — who tried to punch her.
“What if I try to transport them again, giving you time to slash away at the chairs and stuff holding people down?” Lucy suggested.
It was only a brief moment but the four youngsters, who belonged to different organizations, nodded in agreement with one another. They knew it was worth a try.
Lucy braced herself, taking a deep breath before running to the middle aisle, in the very center of the theater. It was the most optimal spot to activate Anne’s Room and transport all the attackers.
“Here it goes!!!”
***
Mushitaro knew it was an inauspicious day for him.
He was correct.
Not only was he on his day off, but he was also actively assisting an investigation that had nothing to do with him.
Despite the serious matter of potential explosives, he thought that the rest of his companions were too lax as they went around investigating.
Poe, Ranpo, and even Kajii would try different food stalls and rides. He thought Ranpo was in such a good mood that he was even chatting with random strangers. It happened every ten minutes or so, strangely enough.
The group went around Broadway Avenue, which was made to look like New York’s famous theater district. There were staff members who were impersonating famous actors and actresses in history, too.
“Why are there so many maintenance staff out in the open?” Mushitaro heard himself muttering as they lined up for a carousel ride that Ranpo suggested.
He noticed that there were plenty of men in the staff outfit who seemed to be repairing electric boxes out in the open. One or two would be inconspicuous but he had probably seen seven or so in the past hour alone.
The odd thing was that they would disappear as soon as he saw them.
The other thing that surprised him was the mafia’s mad scientist. He never expected Kajii to blend in so well with their group, but the mafioso was just as excited to try the rides as much as Poe and Ranpo.
As Kajii and Mushitaro waited at a bench while Ranpo and Poe ordered sweets from a nearby snack stand, Kajii whispered to Mushitaro, “So, are they a couple or what?”
The evidence destroyer almost fell out of the bench when he heard the question.
“Rivals! They are rivals!” Mushitaro corrected, as he settled back into the bench. “I’m their rival too!”
Kajii laughed his usual maniacal laugh that made other guests look their way. “Oohhh… How exciting! So a three-way rivalry?”
Mushitaro didn’t have the patience to explain the trio’s complicated history. At least not that day. “Something like that...”
Ranpo waved back to Mushitaro and Kajii. “Hey, you two! What are you whispering about over there? We’re gonna eat all these candy corns!!!”
Mushitaro stood and walked to Ranpo and Poe, grateful that he was saved from further questioning. “Those will rot your mouth! Why did you even drag me here in the first place?! I thought we were going to look for a potential terrorist!”
Poe and Ranpo merely looked at each other and then at Kajii who also nodded.
“Well, we are stopping them,” Ranpo said before popping a candy corn into his mouth.
“Huh????!” Mushitaro wondered if he missed anything.
Karl cooed as if mocking the evidence destroyer.
“Ranpo-kun has been giving coded messages to the police officers in plainclothes this whole time!” Poe said. “Didn’t you notice?”
Kajii pointed to himself. “Even I noticed that… I guess as a member of the great Port Mafia, I’ve seen my share of police officers and I can smell one from a mile away! They give off a certain scent, I tell you! A weird, desperate scent!”
Mushitaro remembered all the times Ranpo chatted to different people. “So those men… Were part of the police force in plainclothes?”
“Obviously,” Ranpo said with a hint of mocking in his voice. “The best course of action is to prevent the terrorist acting in the first place so I’ve been tipping off the police officers about the suspicious-looking men and their little box bombs. It’s the type that doesn’t cause too much damage but if there was a huge amount spread out throughout the park, it will definitely cause mass panic.”
Mushitaro hung his head. He felt guilty. Ranpo had been working this whole time and he wasn’t able to help.
“Why did you even bring me here if in the park if you already have a plan?” Mushitaro asked.
Ranpo popped another candy corn and explained with his mouth half-full. “Your part will come in later! And don’t worry, you’ve been plenty helpful. I’ve spotted the bombers disguised as maintenance men because you spotted them first. All I had to do was look towards the direction you kept glancing at, so yes, you've been helpful... somewhat."
“Huh?!”
“You’ve spotted the maintenance man carrying the bombs before we did, Mushitaro-kun,” Poe said in a concerned tone. “I thought you were on the lookout as well!”
Mushitaro realized that he had instinctively been glancing at the spots and places optimal for hiding bombs while they were going around Broadway Avenue and Medieval Madness. That was why he kept spotting the maintenance men. It was his natural instinct as an evidence destroyer and as someone who played mystery games, having spent countless hours talking about staging crime scenes with a certain mystery nut.
Yokomizo, you’ve helped me out again huh…
“But our job isn’t over,” Ranpo said. “We still need to find the source, the ability user who keeps multiplying these bombs and his clones.”
“With the signal cut off, the bomb is going to be triggered by an ability after all, huh?” Mushitaro asked.
Ranpo smirked. “Of course, I have an idea where he is, but — ”
Just then, there were sounds of explosives going off in other parts of the park. It was a booming sound coming from Halloween Town.
“They must have prepared a big one,” Ranpo suddenly sounded more serious.
“Aren’t those — ?”
Mushitaro was about to say the sound of bombs, but Karl suddenly jumped onto his face.
“Gerroofff mee!”
“Those are fireworks, Mushi-kun!” Poe said out loud or as loud as he could so that the passersby wouldn’t panic.
Kajii, the bomb expert in their team, was on Mushitaro’s side. He looked towards the sky, towards the direction of the sound. The others noticed that for the first time that day, the mafioso had a stern expression on his face, which was uncharacteristic of him.
“Then that must be one hell of a firework then…”
***
The Haunted Mansion could accommodate up to a hundred people at a time. That was how big the land area was dedicated to the theme park’s most famous attraction. Guests were greeted by a cemetery where they were told of the story of the vengeful group of ghosts haunting the mansion and its grounds.
The mansion itself was huge — a building with three floors and as big as the red brick warehouse, Kenji thought.
The sounds of the amusement park outside had died. Inside this dome, they all felt disconnected from the outside world. Even the sky had darkened as the dome was covered by screens that projected the blackened sky of midnight. They were now trapped in this horrific dimension.
Kenji, Chuuya, and the fan club girls, together with ten other people, were standing in a cemetery when something sprung up from behind a grave.
“Welcome, doomed guests, to the Haunted Mansion! Wooooohhhh!”
A tall man in pale makeup, made to look like he was dead, was dressed in a butler’s outfit. Some of the girls in their group screamed in surprise, including Kiyoko.
Beside him, Kenji saw the girls with worried looks on their faces. He smiled at them and mouthed, “It’s okay! It’s all fake!”
Most of them smiled and nodded, except Mikki, who kept a tight grip on the hem of her shirt as her hands shook.
Chuuya, on the other hand, cranked his head up and looked left and right as if searching for someone. Then he tutted in disappointment.
As Kenji started to wonder who Chuuya was looking for, the butler ghost explained that they could explore the grounds and the different rooms in the mansion to figure out an “exit”.
“But be careful! As you try to escape this realm, you may meet the different ghosts like me who lived in this building throughout its different eras! Woooohhh!”
A blonde, cocky teenager dressed in tattered jeans raised his hand. “What kind of ghosts are we gonna meet?”
“Well, this building used to be a hospital with a human experimentation laboratory, then a school, a monastery, then a hotel! The former residents of the Haunted Mansion are trapped here and they are all hoping to catch you and trap you as well!”
Kiyoko screeched. “Trapped?! For real?!”
“Well, once you’re caught by any of the ghosts, it’s game over and you can no longer explore the grounds to find the treasure!”
“Treasure! Oh yeah! All right!” The cocky teenager high-fived his friend, also dressed in tattered jeans and a biker jacket.
The butler explained the rules of the game more — the more rooms they explore, the more clues they can find that will lead them to the hidden treasure. Winners of the game will be given a medal that they can exchange for prizes in the Admin building before they leave the park.
The overconfident teenager raised his hand again. “Has anyone found the treasure before?”
The butler’s lips curled in a sinister smile. “Since we opened the park a few weeks ago, no… And when we ran simulations, only 1% could find the treasure!” Then the ghastly butler laughed again, making the girls shudder in fear and partial disgust.
“Your time limit is one hour!” The ghost butler bellowed before making his exit behind an exceptionally big tombstone. “Good luck making it out alive! Wooooohhhhh!!!”
The other people in the group asked what they were supposed to do now. Then they heard an old grandfather clock chime from somewhere inside the mansion. The doors ominously opened but no one in the group dared move except Chuuya.
“Well, kid, imma go ahead!” Chuuya tapped Kenji’s shoulder. “I don’t have time for this treasure thing… As I said, I’m lookin’ for someone and I need to look for ‘em bombs ya know? Keep your eyes peeled too! Once ya find a suspicious thing or person, tell the staff, ‘kay? The more places we cover, the better!”
Kenji saluted Chuuya. “Will do, Chuuya-san! Leave it up to me! I’ll make sure we — ”
Before Kenji could finish his sentence, the ground in the cemetery started to shake and shouting could be heard from beneath them.
“Shit! Is it the bombs?” Chuuya muttered under his breath.
The earth opened up and decomposing-looking hands shot up and grabbed the feet of some of the guests.
“AAHHHHH!!!” The overconfident teenager fell to his knees as one of the zombie hands caught him.
Then some of the zombies rose from the ground and caught others too. Before it caught any of the girls, Kenji scooped some of them and placed them on his back. Chuuya pulled the remaining girls and flew away from the graveyard.
“Hold onto my arm!” He instructed the girls as he flew them closer to the steps of the daunting mansion.
The rest of the guests scattered across the grounds and some ran into the mansion. Others scampered away into the greenhouse beside the mansion.
As the zombies and the other guests scattered, leaving only Kenji, Chuuya, and the girls in front of the huge structure.
“Geez, why am I getting so worked up? It ain’t even real!” Chuuya groaned as they descended back into the ground.
With their feet planted firmly on the ground, Kenji’s fan club President, Kiyoko, as well as the club Vice-President, Fuji, had swooned over Chuuya. The way he acted quickly and didn’t hesitate to fly the girls to safety made an impression on both girls.
“Shall we try to go inside?” Kenji asked Chuuya. “We can go look for the — ”
“Shall we try to find the exit?” Kiyoko suggested. “Maybe we can all go together as a group with Chuuya-sama?”
The mafioso was taken aback by his new, exalted honorific.
“But Chuuya-san is here to find his friend! We shouldn’t impose on him!”
Chuuya looked around and saw the pleading faces of the girls. Perhaps they thought having two defenders would be better as there was strength in numbers.
He frowned before sighing deeply as if he didn’t have a choice. “Well, for the time bein’ since I need to go ‘round anyway!”
“Yay!” Kiyoko clapped her hands. The other girls breathed a sigh of relief.
“Shall we go inside now?” Kenji asked, pointing to the open doors and the darkness behind them.
Chuuya held his hand out to stop him. “Wait, kid. There were others who ran inside but we can’t hear any of them now. Goin’ in, maybe you and I should lead the group before the girls go in.”
As Kenji advanced, he noticed that someone was tugging on the back of his shirt. He turned around and it was Mikki.
“Let me…” She looked aside in embarrassment. “If you allow me to stay close to you…”
Kenji smiled and patted her head. “Of course! Just follow closely.”
The other girls stared daggers at their friend but they were too afraid to follow too closely. They were at least five feet behind.
As the group walked up the stone steps and entered the mansion, Chuuya, Kenji, and Mikki could barely make out the mansion lobby.
“Maybe we can find a light switch,” the sensible Teiko shouted from behind them.
Kenji glanced back and nodded but that was the last thing he saw.
As the trio took another step, the floor opened, revealing a trap door, and Chuuya, Kenji, and Mikki fell into what looked like a bottomless pit as the others screamed in horror.
***
In another part of the mansion, a couple was busy doing things couples do inside a fake classroom haunted by a ghost… except the ghost was knocked out, tied up, and locked inside a cabinet.
Technically, the participants of the Haunted Mansion weren’t allowed to touch or harm the staff, but this particular couple didn’t exactly care for rules.
The couple only stopped when they heard screams coming from somewhere several floors below. It wasn’t the usual type of scream from the other rooms but an alarming one that made the man stop and pull away from the woman.
“That girlish scream sounds so familiar,” the man said.
The woman giggled as she grabbed the man’s collar and pulled him closer to her again. “Dazai, your hearing is too freakishly, inhumanely good.”
She leaned in and playfully nibbled on Dazai’s earlobe when they heard a series of explosive sounds.
Dazai pulled away again. “That doesn’t sound right,” he said.
The girl huffed in frustration before straightening up. “I guess the intel I gathered is correct. Someone was really planning to cause trouble today… Probably blame it on the mafia too…”
Dazai smirked. “Shall we continue working then? I’ll make sure to get the people to safety and I can nullify the copies of bombs left around this area. And you’ll — ”
“I’ll go direct to the source. I’ll look into our earlier hunch…”
Before they separated, he pulled the woman close and kissed her cheek for good luck.
***
“Howdy, children! It’s yer favorite cowboy-slash-magician, Notorious Nick! Yeee-haaaw!”
The children in the saloon in the Wild Wild Wild West clapped in excitement. Their parents watched in the sidelines as they enjoyed a pint or two from the bar.
Notorious Nick was basically babysitting the kids while the parents relaxed from the ordeal of being dragged around the park.
The cowboy magician performed disappearing tricks, cut his assistants in half, ate fire, and the usual parlor tricks. Even the parents and guardians were entertained.
Then Nick saw a familiar face lingering in the saloon. It was the same maintenance man who placed the same “humidifier” in the staff room.
“Now, for the next trick, I’ll make something disappear!” The cowboy magician said before pointing to the maintenance man. “You there! Hey, children! Go grab him! He’s my next assistant!”
The children ran to the man, who shrieked before trying to run away. But the children held him down as Nick walked towards the mysterious man.
“So, Mr. Maintenance Man, I think it’s time you and your so-called humidifier disappear! But first, you have to tell me where you placed the others and who you work for! Is it a certain Russian?”
While the kids cheered and held the man down, the cap was removed from his head and Nick could finally see the man’s face. He had a plain face without any striking characteristics. His short black hair was also unremarkable. It was the sort of hairstyle one in every five salary man would have.
“Russian? Huh? I don’t work for — ”
Then the man disappeared like the mist. The children clapped, thinking it was Notorious Nick who caused the disappearance.
The cowboy magician looked around and saw two more humidifier boxes that appeared in the saloon, as if they were multiplying there.
“The Overcoat!”
Using his coat that was craftfully hidden and tucked around his waist, a portal appeared.
Thinking this was all an act, the audience — parents, kids and the other staff in the saloon — gasped in awe. Notorious Nick, also known as Nikolai, ran to the humidifiers, pushing parents out of the way.
“Can we play a little game? If you find any more of these boxes, throw them here into this portal like a basketball!” He instructed the audience and demonstrated it for them.
He couldn’t hear a ticking sound so it seemed to be activated by a remote device. He knew he was endangering the lives of the people picking it up but he never cared about stuff like that. His goal was to throw a wrench into this bombing plan to get the attention of the maintenance guy or whoever the mastermind is… And perhaps that person would lead him closer to his goal…
The people happily joined in his game and tossed the humidifier boxes into his portal as if they were playing basketball. None of the boxes exploded, thankfully. But somewhere outside the saloon, Nikolai heard the distinct sound of explosions nearby.
It was certain now that other explosives were going off in other parts of the theme park. For the untrained ears, they would have sounded like fireworks, which was not unusual for a theme park. And he was certain that another ability user was behind them since the signal wasn’t back and there was no way to activate the bombs remotely unless it was triggered by an ability.
Nikolai performed tricks for the rest of the afternoon and he waited for the maintenance man to show up again but he never did.
***
Kenji woke up in complete darkness. He rubbed the part of his lower back where he landed. The mattress was too soft and secure so he didn’t hurt too much.
He looked around but only darkness stared back at him. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed. He could hear the sound of heavy breathing nearby and bubbling water.
A minute later, he heard another sound.
“Ow! What the hell! Is this supposed to be part of this whatever this thing is?!"
“Chuuya-san?”
“Oi, kid!”
Then, another voice. “Ouch!”
“Mikki-chan?”
“Kenji-kun?”
“Hey, kids! Follow my voice and stick near me!”
Kenji followed Chuuya’s voice and he grabbed the mafioso’s outstretched arm. “Sorry I couldn’t activate my ability in time as we were fallin’... I was knocked out by something that fell on top of my head...”
Then, the lights came on. Both Mikki and Kenji were holding onto each of Chuuya’s arms. They looked around, taking in the sights of their ominous surroundings. They were in some kind of basement laboratory. There were pieces of furniture around, which most likely fell with them from the mansion lobby, including a decorative ornament that was heavy enough to have knocked out Chuuya from earlier.
Whitewashed walls trapped them inside. Walls were covered with specimens in jars. Some even looked like body parts preserved in suspicious-looking liquid.
But the most eerie part of the laboratory was the lifelike humans inside gigantic tubes.
Somewhere above them, there were sounds of rumbling or thunder or explosions.
Kenji tried to whisper to the mafioso. “Chuuya-san, do you think those are the explosives you mentioned to me or — ?”
But the Port Mafia executive wasn’t able to answer. In fact, he looked like his mind was in another world. Chuuya simply stared at the humans inside the tubes. Kenji noticed that Chuuya’s face had turned pale — perhaps even paler than the butler ghost from earlier.
“Mr. Part Timer!” Mikki sounded panicked as well.
The sounds of thunder roared overhead, which started to bother Kenji… but he set his mind to comforting Chuuya first.
“Chuuya-san! Are you okay?”
Then, thunder clapped harder than ever and it was Kenji’s turn to panic. Like a horror movie playing inside his mind, scenes flashed by, including those from his hometown ravaged by that super typhoon… The rising water… The howling wind… The overflowing river that swept people away… The landslide… The unforgiving rain that never seemed to stop… His best friend and other neighbors trapped…
Kenji covered his ears as the thunderous sound continued relentlessly. He wondered for a second if he was imagining it. Were they the sounds of a storm or something else?
“It’s not real… It’s not real… It’s not real…”
NEXT CHAPTER: WHY DO YOU HAVE TO FACE YOUR FEARS WHEN YOU CAN RUN AWAY FROM IT?