Men armed with sub-machine guns were standing near an electric fence, guarding the border of Science prefecture. Their chest popped out and their heads were covered with bulletproof helmets. The science guards were wearing a suit.
Kuzu looked up at the four towers arranged in line with guards equipped with rifles, scouting the area.
A man stopped Kuzu in front of an entrance. "ID card," he asked.
Kuzu pulled his and Gigi's IDs from his suit's pocket and handed them to the man. The man leaned over to his table and checked their names. He nodded as he handed Kuzu the IDs back.
"You better not do anything risky, sir," he said. "These mages are out of their mind. They curse the first scientist they find suspicious."
Kuzu kept the IDs back in his pocket. The guard frisked both of them. The guard moved back and directed Kuzu to exit the border.
Kuzu pulled his suit after the frisking. "Thanks for your advice, guard-san," he said, "but we know what we are doing."
Kuzu exited the electric fence. He saw wizards above him, with archers standing on towers that touched the sky. The path to the Mage's border was covered with snow as no one bothered to clean the snow between the two borders.
Kuzu kept walking for five minutes before seeing a man dressed in robes under a cloak waiting for him. He directed Kuzu towards the Mage prefecture's entrance.
"Frisk them," ordered another mage who was strangely staring at the two people from the science prefecture.
Kuzu thought he looked innocent and not like a person who has entered the mage prefecture to kill somebody, but to the boss who was handling the entry and exit of people, Kuzu looked like a killer.
Kuzu's blonde hair, piercings, and that look on Kuzu's face-- lips sticking together, wrinkles forming on his forehead, and his nose bulging with anger.
Kuzu and Gigi walked to the boss. "Visa," he asked. Kuzu handed him a card. "Purpose of your visit?"
Kuzu nodded. "To meet an online friend."
The boss kept staring at him before lifting his stamp and punching Kuzu's visa card with a mark that read: 'Verified entry' and the date below.
"Friends with a mage? Be careful, visitor."
Kuzu accepted his visa, then looked at the boss. "Is that how you treat your visitors?"
"This is how we treat you, science users. Welcome to the city, visitors." The man bowed his head.
Kuzu clicked his tongue and walked through the entrance. It was a straight path out. When Kuzu took the last step forward, he appeared right next to a white and decorated building.
Kuzu looked around him. Lights sparkled in the night sky, accompanying the remaining stars. Doctors, nurses, and patients were celebrating New Year's eve inside the hospital.
Kuzu glanced to his side, then strode towards the hospital's porch.
Gigi tried to keep up with him. "Akemi first?" he asked.
Kuzu walked past an old man sitting on the benches, he passed a Christmas tree and entered the back corridor.
"Fuck her," Kuzu said, as he pushed the Men's door. "Masao-san will deal with her."
Kuzu walked straight to the last toilet station. Kuzu took out a slug-like gadget and threw it at the knob. He waited till he heard a click. Kuzu pushed open the door and walked inside.
In front of Kuzu and Gigi stood a black portal instead of a toilet seat.
"Their washrooms are filthy, I got to admit." Gigi groaned behind Kuzu.
"We do not have to sleep here, come on now." Kuzu jumped into the portal. Gigi nodded and followed Kuzu.
They both appeared in front of a house that stood alone with dry, snow-covered trees in the background.
Gig raised his hand, his arm transformed into a cannon's open mouth, he turned to Kuzu. Gigi launched the first ball of cannon when Kuzu nodded.
It crashed on a wall on the first floor and went past through it. Gigi's arm jolted when he fired another air cannonball.
Kuzu took Gigi's gun and fired it all around the house. The porch, the windows, the sliding doors, and the trees.
Kakashi and Eya entered a restaurant, a waiter guided them to their private compartment in the private compartment section.
Kakashi had already placed the order, he knew what Eya would like, so now they had to wait till their dinner arrived.
Eya unbuttoned her long coat, she looked at Kakashi. "Do you think Hitori-san would have read the letter?"
Kakashi settled him after taking a look at their table. "Of course. If he was there then he must have read the---" Kakashi choked on his words, he struggled and grabbed and clenched his heart.
Eya's eyes widened at the sight, she could not believe for a second that it was happening for real. But when Kakashi collapsed under the table, Eya jumped in panic.
"W-w-what is happening? K-K-Kakashi, what is it?!" She went under the table and reached for Kakashi's hand.
But Kakashi did not have a spare hand, he had clenched his forearm with his other hand as he took heavy, uneven breaths. "F-fuck!" Kakashi grunted.
"Kakashi!" Eya jumped and grabbed Kakashi's arm.
Kakashi dared to remove his arm, he groaned in pain, he looked at his forearm and saw two men firing at the trees.
Kakashi hesitated but lifted his eyes at Eya. "That boy. He is in danger." Kakashi's chest heaved up and down.
Eya frowned. "W-what?"
"He is under attack. They are firing at the trees. We need to---" he stretched his hand and groaned.
Eya grabbed Kakashi's arm and they both disappeared.
From the corner, a waiter walked to their compartment with two dishes in his hands. The compartment's door slid open when he came closer.
"Thanks for waiting---" his mouth dropped open, he glanced around him but could not find his customers.
Gigi stopped blasting the house and Kuzu threw the gun back to Gigi. "That is enough."
Eya appeared behind Kuzu with Kakashi, she grabbed Kakashi's collar again and teleported inside the woods. Kakashi stumbled and fell on the snow along with Eya.
They both got to their knees and peeked at the two men standing in front of the house.
"Who are they?" Eya glanced at Kakashi. He was recovering from pain.
"Do not know." he gulped.
Gigi sighed. "What do we do now?"
Kakashi raised his hand but suddenly Eya snapped his forearm down. She grabbed his hand and shook her head, terror in her eyes and seriousness on her face.
Kuzu said, "Let us go inside." Kuzu stepped, and Gigi followed him. Soon, they both reached the door.
To unlock the door, Kuzu threw that sluggish device again, he took it back after the door unlocked.
Eya and Kakashi held their breaths till Kuzu and Gigi were inside the house. Eya released his forearm and sighed in relief.
Kakashi got up when Eya teleported them near the house. "You are wasting your mana!" Kakashi hissed. "Teleporting by no means!"
She pulled Kakashi with her as she climbed the two stairs. Then she walked to the veranda's left corner. She pushed Kakashi down to sit on the wooden platform.
She took a glance inside the house through the broken window. She squatted beside Kakashi. Cold sweat was running down her neck, into her maid's dress, and her hands were trembling as she grabbed Kakashi by his shoulder.
"You wait outside."
Kakashi's eyes widened. Eya knew exactly what he was going to say.
"No. Listen, you are injured and they will come out, running for their lives. And they will try to get to their portal." Obviously, they came through a portal.
Kakashi was debating but even he knew he was not fully recovered from the terrifying pain of being shot hundreds of times.
Eya continued, "Whoever they are, they are here to kill Hitori-san. We need to capture them alive."
Kakashi looked down and nodded. He moved his hand over his forearm, recalling the pain and trying to ease it.
"You wait outside, by this door. I will chase them out. And when they are out, we will avenge your pain."
Kakashi went for his long coat's side pocket and pulled out a blue potion. He was still exhausted and needed a stamina and mana potion too. Unfortunately, he was not prepared for this to happen on his night out with his sister.
Eya got up and took a glance. She saw Kuzu walk through the drawing hall's carpet and enter Hitori's room. With bravery and courage, Eya stepped inside the house.
She looked on her left side, she saw a door-- the storeroom's door. Without thinking twice, she hid behind in the closet. When Eya saw Kuzu's shadow getting big under the big candle hanging down the wall in the drawing hall, she came out and ran to the kitchen.
Kuzu and Gigi looked around them once again. "A pretty nice house he has," Gigi muttered.
"Hm, agreed." Kuzu nodded as they walked towards the storeroom.
They checked inside the storeroom, Eya was squeezing her petite body against the Kitchen's sliding door.
Gigi checked inside, came out, and shook his head. Kuzu turned around in the dining hall which gave him a straight view of the sliding door.
His brows cornered down. Kuzu tapped his oblique and pulled out a short sword as he tip-toed towards the wide-open sliding door in the kitchen.
Kuzu felt a chill run down his spine when the little snow particles flew inside through the door. Still, Kuzu stepped out of the door.
He looked down, he saw a wooden platform, he looked up and there was a shed. He was standing on the kitchen's veranda, in front of him were brown, black wood and snow.
The absence of the moon today was already making it hard for Kuzu to look any further into the dark woods, he did not bother going any further.
Gigi checked the washroom by that time. He walked to Kuzu and shook his head. "Nowhere."
Kuzu hummed. He walked out of the kitchen and looked at the stairs that led to the first floor.
Eya clasped her hand near her chest. She was lying under the kitchen's veranda's wooden platform. She was holding her breath, her heart was racing when Kuzu was standing above her.
Eya sighed in relief when he heard footsteps, climbing the stairs. Eya crawled out and patted her clothes. She took a deep breath before walking inside and closing the sliding door behind her.
Eya walked out to the drawing hall and stared at the dark stairs, with a click candles lit up on their own, and light glowed on the stairs.
Eya heard Kakashi, she brought her finger to her ear. "Come in, Eya-nee," he whispered.
"Yeah."
"What is the situation?"
"They are headed upstairs," Eya reported.
Kakashi remembered how dirty the first floor was. Webs hanging d own from the ceiling, candles covered in webs, spiders hanging down the corners. "Best of luck to them." he sighed.
"I am following them," Eya said.
"To the first floor... do you remember that... uh, those French doors?"
"Hm, yes."
"Trap the mouse in that maze," Kakashi whispered.
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