Eya firmly closed the door behind her, she did not want the customer to peek inside. With her head held low, a smile on her face (because of Hitori's stupidity, she found it cute), but she wondered why he suspected them.
She saw the counter in front of her and two men leaning over the counter, their heads facing the first alley.
She glanced at their heads and saw the back of their heads covered in hoods. She bowed. "Welcome, sir, what service would you like?"
She lifted her head, they were staring at the alley. When she dropped her head, they turned around, and she processed the system.
"Service?"
She hummed them a response.
"Could we get Saibai Hitori delivered to our console station then?"
She paused. Eya remembered that sinister voice, the tease in that tone, and the absence of fear in his every word.
Her eyes met with the man. He smiled and went for his sunglasses. It was winter, and today's weather was bad, no way anyone would wear sunglasses unless—
Another man raised his gun he had been hiding under his robes. Eya's heart skipped a beat, she moved her hands over the system, then pressed a switch that popped everybody's cards out of the slot and exited them from the game.
The man threw his sunglasses, she raised her eyes, and they met with the orange color, dagger-like pupils she was afraid to face.
Their cards' sudden ejection had evoked chaos in the Vr-cade. At first, they thought it was due to malfunctioning or a system bug. Just to realize they were forcefully logged out.
The customers created havoc in the Vr-cade. Some were in the middle of a mission, a conquest, some had almost conquered a dungeon, and only a few were making their all-time best.
Hidari moved his finger to the trigger. The staff room's door swung open and Hidari stopped when he heard someone yell.
"Eya-nee, move!" Kakashi busted out of the door. The customers who were making their way to the counter stopped.
Hidari and Tengoku turned to the door with Eya, they found Hitori standing inside with a blank, confused expression on his face.
Hidari's eyes widened, and he raced his gun at the door, Hitori's eyes widened when he found a gun aimed at his head.
Hidari pulled the trigger and the customers shirked. When they heard the bullets piercing the door and wall, they covered their heads and raced to the last alley.
Kakashi created a defense shield as he bent over and ran to Eya. She ducked the firing under her counter.
Hidari fired in Hitori's direction but only a few bullets made it to the other side. The door swung closed and blocked the bullets. It took a round to go through the door but Hitori was out of his range.
Kakashi looked at Eya, she looked at him, then she stretched her hand. Kakashi jumped and grabbed it. Before his belly could touch the floor, they were back in the staff room.
Eya appeared in front of Hitori and rose from the ground while Kakashi fell on his belly and pushed himself off.
Kakashi took his wand and enchanted the door with protection and defense spells.
She found Hitori standing in a corner, against the wall. His mouth was wide open and his wand was trembling.
Eya grabbed his shoulders and shook him. "Hitori-san!"
He moved his wide-in-shock eyes to Eya.
"Are you hurt? Were you shot?" she asked, still shaking him furiously.
Hitori shook his head. Eya sighed and turned to Kakashi. "He is fine, we need to leave."
Kakashi lowered his wand, nodded, and turned to them. "To the boy's house, now!"
Eya removed her hand from Hitori and stretched it for Kakashi. He made another dive for his sister's hand, ignoring the firing and screaming outside, ignoring the scared and crying customer.
They teleported out of the Vr-cade, then to the bridge, then to the barren lands, and then directly to Hitori's house.
Eya glanced around the white woods, Kakashi made contact with the trees and woke them to guard the area. Eya had a firm grip on Hitori's wrist, she took him inside the house while Kakashi made a few last moment preparations.
Hitori glanced at the lady, she was different from before, she frowned rather than smiled, she was scared for the first time instead of happy and cheerful.
"H-how do you know my house?"
"We know more than just your house," she said.
Kakashi reached the door, he took a last glance around, then sealed the door with protection enchantments.
Hidari managed to create holes in the enchanted door. Tengoku punched the door with his katana's handle. The door swung open, and particles of wood fell on his face.
He took a glance inside, his katana by his side, and Hidari right behind him. There was no sign of anyone.
Tengoku turned to Hidari. "To his house," he said, "Scare the mages, do not kill a single one, they should flee from this Vr-cade to never come back again."
Hidari nodded. He walked past the first alley. He took a magazine out of his storage and loaded the gun. When he walked past the third alley, he cocked his gun, and the cocking was enough to scare the shit out of the gaming nerds, who were basically introverts.
A few of them were capable of defeating a couple of people around their level or slightly above; but even they, when they heard the firing, were scared to face the scientists.
They may be terrorists, they may have more powerful weapons with them than just a gun, there were several possibilities. It would be a risk to their life to step forward, it was a risk anyway.
Hidari held his gun by his side till he walked past the seventh alley. It was dark after blasting the lamp system, the lights were gone, and the consoles were shut down.
He could see darkness in the sight. The mages had curled into the corner, their wands drawn but scared to death. They were civilians after all.
Gigi raised his assault rifle and pulled the trigger.
"Fuck off!" he shouted, "fuck out of the Vr-cade, this has been sized by the scientists! Run for your fucking lives and spread the word: The Vr-cade is now the property of scientists, by order of the Weapon Engineers!"
The mages jumped out of the hole, they covered their heads and threw their wands as they ran out of the Vr-cade without stopping, without taking a glance, and without taking a breath.
Hidari came back, looking for Tengoku, he found him in the staff room. "What are you doing, should not we leave?"
Tengoku had undrawn his katana, he had thrown his robes on the floor, and he was back to his two-piece suit attire. "Seal the Vr-cade." He turned. "If we do not, they will come back. We will leave fewer places for them to die. Seal this building and activate the lasers and the mines."
Hidari nodded, and Tengoku walked past him. "Yes, we need to leave, with more men and prepared to face the woods."
Hitori placed his glass on the table in front of him, in the middle of the drawing-room. Eya was sitting by his side, not daring to touch him again after he snapped at her for touching him, and Kakashi was looking outside.
He had closed the sliding doors, all of the doors on the first floor, and the windows, and enchanted the main door.
Coming through the backdoor would be impossible, they would be left with only one option– the front door, where Kakashi hand-planted magical mines. If someone steps on them he blows to hell.
Eya got up, Hitori glanced at her, then dropped his head. He was taking deep breaths to control himself. He still could not believe the Vr-cade staff, but they were the ones who saved him from some crazy scientists, if it was not for them, he would have died.
If they were working for Onogi or with Tengoku, then they would not have bothered to teleport to the house, waste their mana to seal the house, and take the risk of getting caught in an open fire.
Kakashi rubbed his hands together and looked out of the kitchen door. He had lightened the fire, the house had started to get warm.
Eya saw him standing on the veranda. She shook her head. Eya grabbed Kakashi by his shoulder and pulled him. "The House Guardian is no joke, trust it."
Hitori's ears lifted and he lifted his head. "The House Guardian."
He stood from the sofa, he had to ask them, he had to know what exactly was the House Guardian they were talking about, even Kamiya had mentioned it.
Eya sighed, she released her grip, and said, "We need to show him what happened. He is suspecting us, and if this goes any further, he would not be able to trust us, hence, we would not be able to protect him anymore."
Kakashi nodded. "Where is he?"
"On the sofa." She turned and gasped.
Hitori took a step back.
"W-what are you doing here?" She asked, her voice as high-pitched as it could.
"I heard you talking," he said, "what is this House Guardian?"
Kakashi's mouth dropped. He then frowned and sighed. "It is a protection enchantment, the highest-tier one. The forest behind your house is not there for no reason."
"Does the forest protects me then?"
Kakashi bit his lower lip. "Why is he so dumb? For god's sake, boy, pay attention in the school!" Kakashi groaned annoyingly.
"Himbo! They do not teach us such powerful enchantments till we graduate."
"That Kamiya boy knows what a House Guardian is, he even knows the spell to slow down the guardian, and this boy– the Saibai Hiro's son– such a disappointment!"
Eya stayed silent, she had to agree. Hitori had not lived up to their expectations.
"How do you know my father? And what do you know about us?" Hitori asked. "And why do you know what Kamiya knows or not?"
Eya raised her head, she exchanged glances with Kakashi. They nodded. They moved closer and held hands, Eya looked at Hitori. He somehow knew he had to join them.
Then Kakashi began his chanting. He called the Lord of Time and the Lord of Crimes.
"Open your eyes, Hitori-san." He felt Eya's firm grip around his hand. He opened his eyes and looked at her, she cared for him and he could see it in her eyes.
Hitori noticed how tiny Eya's hands were, he wondered whether she was always this tiny?
But, apart from the tiny part, this was for the first time in a long time that Hitori felt he could keep holding a girl's hand for a longer period and the girl was someone apart from Kiku-san, it was Eya.
"Boy, pay attention. This is not a movie, I would not replay it for you if you miss it."
Hitori turned his eyes to the front and they widened. His heart started racing. It was her, Kiku-san. She was standing in the kitchen, sweeping, and crying after her fight with Hitori.
He remembered what he had said to her and he could not hold himself anymore. Hitori stretched his hand and tried to grab her. "Kiku-san!" But his hand went through.
The bell rang, and Hitori turned to the door. Kiku muttered something to herself before getting to the door. She was expecting Hitori but found three men in her doorway.
Hitori did not recognize them soon, but when Tengoku removed his glasses... "That man!" Hitori pointed. "He is the same man from the Vr-cade."
"Just watch," Kakashi said.
That was when the torture being. Hitori bit his lip. He turned to reach for his wand. "Tengoku... Kagaku."
Kakashi and Eya looked at Hitori, he was boiling with anger but he had tears in his eyes.
Tengoku stabbed her thigh, Hitori drew his wand, and chanted, "Avada Kedavra!"
Nothing happened, of course. Kakashi grabbed him before he could go on running. "That spell does not work in real life, idiot!"
He stretched his hand, Eya grabbed it, and they shifted to Hitori's bedroom at night.
Kakashi let go of him. "Seriously, did you think you could kill him with a curse that only exists in fiction?"
"I got to say, your lack of spell vocabulary is amazing. It made you cast a spell from a children's book."
Hitori was breathing heavily, he wanted to reply but gave up. He shook his head, his eyes fell on Kamiya. "What is this?"
Eya took a deep breath. "Kamiya is not your friend, Hitori-san, just like we are not the ones who killed Kiku-san. That night, Kamiya tried to kill you. He is working for Onogi."
Hitori was petrified. "No. No way. Not a single chance in the hell he is working with them! They treat him like trash, it can not be possible!"
"Do not deny the facts. You can see it for yourself. Maybe he is not working for anyone but he wanted to kill you for some reason-- maybe a personal reason."
Hitori was frustrated, he did not want to believe it. "Do you mean all of this, all of this from the start, was nothing but an... in the Vr-cade, during the battle, while playing... all of that was an---"
"Act," Kakashi said, "yes, all of it was an act." He nodded.
That evening Hitori saw and learned the truth behind Kiku's death, and realized Kamiya's true intentions.
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