When he grabbed Reon's hand and closed his eyes to imagine the other side of the hallway that was being showered with bullets, it changed from being a hallway to a river.
The staircase became one end of the flowing river and the storage room became another end. Hitori imagined the water flowing through it, washing fish, and splashing against rocks.
Just imagining the dark side, he found himself on that side when he opened his eyes. Kyo and others were staring at him with their mouths wide open, even Reon was surprised.
He leaned forward and sighed. He raised his head and saw the river in front of him. He had crossed it finally. A smile spread on his face.
Hitori leaned back and looked at his side. The walls on both sides were perfect for hiding him from the guards. But then he thought about the CCTV.
Thankfully, they had not planted CCTV around the storage room. He released Reon's hand and turned around.
Kakashi and others were still debating about that decision, but if Hitori could do it then why can't they?
Atama's call had shaken them from inside. Kakashi and Eya had a sort of an idea of what the call was about, and that bothered them.
Akira glanced at Hitori before turning to Kyo. "What are we waiting for now? The guards will close on us just any moment," he said, but that did not snap Kyo from whatever he was thinking.
After a moment of silence, Kyo opened his mouth and said, "We should leave before it is late.
Akira thought in his mind, Good choice, Kyo-san. Better late than never.
Kyo turned to Eya and Kakashi. "You two go ahead, I will come with him," he said, pointing at Akira.
Kakashi and Eya exchanged glances, then nodded. They grabbed each other's hands, then closed their eyes.
Hitori was waving his hands in the hope of anyone noticing him. Just then Akira's eyes fell on Hitori.
Akira lifted his hand to wave back at him when he saw Kakashi and Eya appear behind him. Quickly, Kakashi turned and started arranging the portal.
Eya was about to do the same when Kyo stopped her. He pulled his wand in front of his mouth and said, "You already used your mana on creating the barrier, do not waste your mana for spells you do not specialize in. Leave that to us."
Kyo turned to Akira and raised his hand. Akira grabbed the hand and closed his eyes. In an instant, they were teleported to the other side.
Kyo walked past Hitori and went to the side Women's was. He raised his wand and started rotating it.
Hitori watched Kakashi as he opened a portal and stepped aside. "Jump in, now!" he shouted.
Hitori realized the firing had stopped. That fact scared him even more. If they were not firing, then they were advancing towards them.
Hitori glanced at Reon for the last time before jumping into the portal. Akira followed them. Now Kakashi waited for Kyoryu to finish his work.
Kyo moved aside when he finally opened a portal to a toilet stall. Eya and Reon grabbed hands, then jumped through the portal. He closed the portal, then jumped into Kakashi's portal.
Kakashi jumped into his portal, then closed it behind him. They all landed in the same stall with a loud bang.
Hitori unlocked the stall and peeked outside. No one was around, so he slipped out. He went to the door and looked outside, no one was coming, so he said, "Clear."
The door opened and everyone stepped out. Kakashi pushed the door close behind him, then went to the front door.
Hitori glanced out again, the coast was clear, so they went out. Eya and Reon joined them, and they came out of the hospital.
A smile of relief spread on Hitori's face. "We are still alive after that, some luck."
Eya confronted Reon, "Are you okay?" she asked.
Hitori glanced at Reon, she was walking by Eya's side. He saw Reon nod. "I am more angry than sad. He should not have involved my brother in this…"
"He might even go after your parents," Akira said, "are they safe?"
"Yeah," Hitori said, "they said they were under FBI protection. I doubt Onogi has the power of going against the FBI."
"He did," Reon said in a low voice, "he actually did have the power to rebel against the FBI." She leaned forward and looked at Hitori as they walked down the footpath. "Onogi had and still has illegal weapons with him, the ones FBI do not use. With Kuzu on his side, they were relentless."
Kakashi hummed. "I remember the first time I had heard of him… We were on the Science side for the Inter-Prefecture Tournament, everyone was talking about him. In middle school, they feared Onogi and Kuzu's duo due to their bullying. In High School, they feared him because of his father. And now… well, he has established a name for himself. Even teachers never went against him back then."
"But times were not this serious back then," Eya said. "Onogi would have not sent an entire army just because some teacher smacked him, neither he would kill the teacher. But now, on the given circumstances, he can and he will kill people without thinking twice."
"Tell me that," Akira scoffed, "that bastard tried to kill us multiple times already. But we are still alive."
"Thank Kamiya for that," Reon said with her head held low. "If Kuzu was alive, we would have been dead by now. Really, Onogi just has the power to kill us, but Kuzu had the brains to kill us."
Of course, that was it. Hitori had noticed it in the games too. When Kuzu came, he came prepared. When Onogi came, he came with power and swept Hitori's land. Only if he was there to protect his dungeons… Kuzu was dead by then, anyway.
"What good is the power if you do not have the knowledge to use it…" Hitori muttered.
Everyone stared at him for a moment, then turned their eyes one by one and focused on the path ahead.
"Where are we going anyway?" he asked.
"Atama-sensei called," Eya said, "but we do not want to face him—"
"Perfect," Hitori interrupted, "the castle it is. I want to meet Akemi-san and keep her updated."
"What explanation will you provide him with, boy? You pissed a hitman and now he is behind your life?" Kakashi frowned.
"If we want to survive this day," Kyo said, "then we have two options."
Everybody looked at him as he stopped and raised his index finger.
"The Lair," then he raised his middle finger, "or Atama-sensei."
Hitori was surprised when he knew even Kyo regards Atama as 'Atama-sensei.' 'Aren't they both of nearly the same age?' he wondered.
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