An Unexpected Meeting With The Boss

Her feeling had been right after all and he did notice it too. The light now was too bright to see anything. A trap. Just as she expected. But the sound of the blade made her feel a bit comfortable. When the person spoke she couldn´t figure out from where he was speaking. So, she grabbed for him and turned her back at his. With her back at his both of them could avoid being attacked from behind since her eyes were only slowly adapting to the bright light.

"It seems that I found the two rats who infiltrated our headquarter. Maybe I shall welcome you."

Another unruly men of Kasai. She closed her eyes took a deep breath. No problem. She wasn´t that naive to think that she could get out of a mafias headquarter without a scratch and it would be a welcome change to have a small fight. No, don´t underestimate your enemy! Fighting ... but maybe ...she thought that he maybe wanted to use their cards again, trying to fool them again. But in her opinion it was too late. Waiting for him to make a move she drew her katana.

He didn't expect her to do what she did, but he liked the idea. He turned to the side, only paying attention to the sound.

Negai says to her, " He already tried to kill us. It's too late to make peace out of this. I won't let him get away. "

The emotions he had before started to fade away. Back to his serious attitude. Not only was it a mental change, his face showed it too.

The thing on the floor wasn't just a blade. It had to be controlled by some other form of power, so it wasn't safe to say throwing blades was the only thing the enemy could do. Some flames were visible, but it started to die out. Their enemy also had the ability to reach a target in the dark. It wasn't going to be difficult to face him. All they had to do was get closer to him. It was just a matter of locating him, and using team work. He had just hoped the lights wouldn't go off any more.

Their enemy's voice is heard in another area, moving from place to place.

The light was turning off again so it was also hard to see again. But at least she could open her eyes trying to adapt to the dark. No, there was no need adapting to the dark when she was able to turn on the light again. But in a different way.

"But, you know, you should be careful since you want to work for Kasai. If you hurt or kill some of his guards or guardians ... but let´s take a look at him first."

She stroke her katana and it turned into flames again lighting up the small room. Since he did saw it before earlier there was no need to hide it. She opened her eyes to take a look but she couldn´t locate his position. Either he was in sight of him and because she was standing back to back with him she couldn´t see him. Or ... a special ability or technique which was hiding his presence completely.

"Open your eyes and try to locate him. If you can´t ... can you bear with the heat for a moment?"

The room was small so that would be no problem in gettin him but she wasn´t alone that time. The fire wouldn´t harm her and she was also used to the level of oxigen which was rapidly falling in small rooms when she was using this method. But, what about him?

" Yeah, I can take the heat. "

It was good idea bring some light into the dark, since Negai could only depend on instinct at the moment. There was a chance that they would catch him hiding now. Except their enemy was skilled at hiding his presence.

The flame on the weapon completely died out now. It was still visible awhile ago. So... maybe in the same way, his flames should be visible in the same place he's hiding. It was just a matter of timing.

Another thought occured to him. The light in the room might have helped him hide the brightness of his flames. And just before their eyes adjusted, he switches to darkness. But shouldn't they be able to see the flames when it's dark? It took some seconds to die out after it hit its target. That must've been his special ability.

Negai fires the tip of his umbrella to the ceiling, like a bullet. It looked like it was meant to hit their enemy, but it was just for moving around quickly. The wire attached to the tip was used to swing him from place to place. Like how he got up the building. If their enemy made another move, he could grab her and move to another area for safety.

" When the lights turn back on, try to look at his flames. He hides it when the lights are turned off. "

What kind of ability was that? It wasn´t really logical at all or she just don´t get what he was trying to say. She was confused. So, lighting up the room has been wrong? She shook her head. If he figured out what the enemy was doing he could try locating him himself and she could play the part fighting him.

"Let´s say you locate him and I´ll make him show himself. If he´s dangerous we can discuss about the fighting part ..."

She sighed. They were a bad team. But it was only natural since they never fight together before. Since they were talking a bit she could understand how he was thinking, but only ... it was never ever enough to say what he would do next. She didn´t even understand why he was firing his umbrella. By the way, she knew that this umbrella was his weapon but how does he intend to fight with it? She shook her head again. There was no time to think about that. She would see anyway if it would go on as she thought.

She looked straight into the fire. It was no problem since her eyes were used to this. She squinted. There has been a fast movement near the fire which blocked her view for a moment. She didn´t get what he was trying to say but she figured out for herself how to locate him. She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them again. Again. That movement. Maybe ... we´ve got you.

He kept looking around to find their enemy, always focusing on some areas where he thought the lighting was different. What she said was easier said than done. They didn't have much experience fighting together. There was always time for something new.

" Okay. But I have a quicker way to reach him, if we locate him. "

The wire attached to his umbrella flashed a bit, making it visible for her to see. He didn't want their enemy to notice that he could swing from place to place if they were able to find him. He didn't know much about her speed, so it seemed easier to take an easier way to reach their opponent.

" ... We should lure him out. Or at least make him move to another area. It'll be noticeable. "

All they need was a distraction. And he could pretend he was firing at places where he thought their enemy was. Then she could go after him, to bring him out. Or she could distraction.

" One of us can distract him. While he thinks one of us is trying to get him, h- "

The lights turn off again.

This light-turning-off-or-on-thing was pissing her off. It was useless since the fire ... She looke up. But speaking of distraction. It was also possible that he was trying to distract us with finding a way to locate him while he was preparing for the real thing. But she did see the movement near the fire ...

At least, if they couldn´t figure out, it seemed that he prepared something to get to another area. She smiled - like Tarzan and Jane. She bite her lip not to start laughing. His wire flashed again. Again? She looked over her shoulder. There has been a slight light flashing, that´s why the wire flashed too. But it was changing directions fast.

"Hey, can you see that small light buzzing around? Do you think that there´s a chance he´s not in the same room?"

If she was right every move would be a wasted move and it would be difficult locating his real position. But if she was wrong, there was a chance that it´s a trap.

" Not in the same room?... "

She may have been onto something. He thought that it was just difficult to locate their enemy because of his ability, or with the help of the lights and the way the room was built. They would still have to find the other room though.

"... It's possible... "

He thought it was odd his eyes couldn't adapt and find the flames. As a reflection, the light showed off on his wire. Their enemy was able to move from place to place within the room. So there was another level within the room, or an entrance that led to the other room. That must've been why it was so easy to hide his presence and to move around quicker than any regular hitman.

And if they did figure this out, they could use distraction to their advantage.

"Could you back me up for a moment?"

She snapped her fingers and the flames turned back into her katana. Now, it was dark. Only that single light he mentioned was to be seen. She rummaged around in her bag and took out a little mirror. Then she turned to face the light hoping that the whole lights wouldn´t turn on again. Just a little for the first evidence ... She placed the mirror but it wasn´t sufficient so she stepped back paying attention to the light only. Another try.

"Let´s see if it´s strong enough ..."

It was. She smiled. She did present the first evidence. The wall in front of her showed few little bright points and her mirror also. Nice trick but she could do the same.

"Did you noticed the small mirrors when the light turned on? I didn´t but I noticed when my flame was disturbed for a moment. First, I thought he would run around at high speed but he couldn´t possibly disturb the whole flames. Normally and small light couldn´t also but he changed the direction of the mirrors at that moment so it looked like a person running through the fire. And, since the flames filled the whole room the mirrors would´t disturb but they showed a reflection on your wire."

The blade that came towards them was deflected by the handle of his umbrella. Even though it was curved, the wire still remained attached to the ceiling. He makes sure there weren't any more attacks coming, then he looks up to see if he can notice the mirrors now. It was still kind of hard to see it. It all seemed very faint. Then he looks straight forward again, just in case something was coming.

" No, I didn't notice it at all. I was still focused on our surroundings at eye level, and not above. The lights made it even harder to notice there were mirrors around us too. "

Now that they've caught onto it, they could begin to end this by breaking the mirrors. Then in a matter of time, their enemy would be revealed. He wondered if their enemy noticed that they figured things out. He didn't seem to try anything new so far.

He says to her, " Nice eye... Glad I have you here... "

"You don´t need to compliment me. We´re still not done yet. Since we´re assuming he´s not in that room we´re need to find out why were hearing him alternately from different sides."

It was too dark to see clearly but turning on the lights would give him an advantage. While she was thinking about how to go on she couldn´t avoid a blade. It just gazed her but it made clear that it was time to get out of there. Again she turned her back at his. It was more safe but not safe enough. How ironic. Where could they be safe in the base of the enemy?

"There must be mechanism throwing those blades and also some little loudspeakers ..."

It was senseless to figure out if he didn´t speak again. But it was also risky trying to make him talk since he could figure out what they were up too. But on the other hand, does it really care? Would he answer questions?

" I'm not sure about that... "

It was possible that he controlled a machine that sent all those blades to them, but it would've been more effective if they weren't sent one by one. A human can do that without a mechanism. A machine can do it at a faster rate, as machines are made to be more efficient than humans.

On the other hand, their enemy could be playing with them. Slowly hurting them for his own amusement. They could use that to their advantage...

" I know it might be risky... but... we have to trick him into talking to us. We'll get clues from what happens... And then we'll get closer to him. "

They could taunt him. Or pretend to be getting weaker. Whatever that helped to lure him out and make false move. What he really wanted to do was to break the mirrors. A change for the situation they were in can start to move things along. It was a long-shot, but something had to be done.

If it wasn´t a mechanism throwing the blades, what was he doing? Why was he using mirrors when he was in the same room? I didn´t make sense at all. He could had just confuse them without the mirrors. They did one step forward but two steps back.

"So, how do you want to lure him out? I don´t think he will answer to our questions?"

The light turned on again. She fastly looked around. There were a lot of mirrors. Nearly the whole room was covered with them but only up from a height of about 1,50 meter. That he could change directions of them was clear but what if he could pull them over completely? The light turned off again. She squinted. Destroying the mirrors would be a good way to find out. But that would also mean revealing that they solved one part of the puzzle.

"Do you agree on destroying the mirrors or would you prefer playing safely?"

Negai holds up his umbrella to one mirror, letting one of the bullets in his umbrella to shoot. As the mirror shattered, the wire attached to the ceiling remained intact.

" Actions speak louder than words... "

He waited. He knew that their enemy would either start fighting seriously, or respond to his action verbally. Afterall, in fighting there were two types of people. Ones that can easily lose their composure, and ones that can control themselves no matter the situation.

After a few seconds, nothing seemed to happen. That wasn't neccessarily a bad thing. They could have been getting to him. There were no attacks coming. For now. But that wasn't enough to persuade him to speak. Regardless, Neagi still had faith in his action.

Negai points the tip to the other mirrors, slowly breaking them one by one. Until something happened.

She was a bit speechless. She wanted to try working with him but he just ... Whatever. If he wanted to do so. He destroyed one mirror after another but there was no sign that there was something else behind the mirrors or it was still just well hidden.

He was destroying all the mirrors and the enemy don´t wanted to take action nor even speak to them. Something was wrong. Again the light turned off. By the way: Where was the door through which they entered the room? She remembered turning her front to the door but before the light turned off again there was no door to see. What was going on? Another mist guard? Illusions?

There was no evidence for that at all. All she needed to do was to wait for the light turning on again and looking for the door. Maybe she just lost her orientation. Should she ask him to take a look at this matter too? No, she decided to keep her mouth shut.

He turns to her.

" Yeah, I know. That wasn't enough to get him to say anything. But give it time. We're gonna get out of this situation. "

At least now they were sure the mirrors weren't that big of a help. There must've been another way the guy was able to hide himself this long. Was she thinking that this could be one of those flame tricks? There wasn't really a point in adding the mirrors, if it just meant having more time to stall.

She was being quiet. He didn't like that. It brought a little guilt and made the whole thing doubtful. But it didn't mean he was being completely reckless. To him.

He was relying on his abilities and did not really worry about the whole situation. It was either careless or a good thing. She was a bit torn but the fact was that she wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. Her little research had no real results. She was none the wiser than before and in the situation not to know what to do next.

Why was he using the mirrors and that stupid light? There was some trick behind it. She thought that she figured it out but ... Damn. She couldn´t force herself to think clearly so she bite her lip. The taste of blood was making her shiver but it had the wanted result.

When the light turned on again she turned around making sure not to confuse him. There was no door either. She turned back and looked to both sides. Nothing. What the hell was going on?

The sound of speaker is heard. Like the sound that comes before there's an announcement made in school. He hadn't really been to school for long, but he could recall the sound. A voice that was bit faint started to get louder. A voice. Most likely their enemy.

The man says, " You new recruits are something else. Come on! Put more effort into it. "

With that, the speaker died. The room returned to the same feeling of pressure from their situation. What did he mean by new recruits? Was this... a test or something? He looks at her.

"... He thinks we're new recruits? "

New recruits? But when he spoke for the first time it sounded that he knew that they were the intruders. It was confusing her even more. But, at least, they definitlely know by now that he wasn´t in this room at all. When she thought about it again it wasn´t helpful at all. She knew it beforehand. She sighed and didn´t returned his look.

" ... seems that way though I don´t understand ..."

It was more than this she wasn´t understanding. The mirrors, the door, calling us recruits ... But what could they do to find out more? Just blindly attacking wasn´t the best idea. Or, was it?

If he thought they were recruits for Kasai, this was all a big misunderstanding. This was probably some kind of training for new people here. Well, he was new. But his reason for being here was be a temporary worker. Nothing big. This type of training wasn't necessary to prepare him for missions, since he had already been on plenty of missions. And there was no reason for them to continue on like this.

" If he thinks we're recruits, we need to get him to stop this... "

He supposed their so-called enemy couldn't hear them at this point. They needed to show him they weren't who he thought they were.

"Give me a break ..."

It was probably a trick too. There was no chance she would believe him thinking they were recruits when he was calling them "rats" beforehand. If he was intending to play this stupid game he could but she, herself had no intention in doing this. Time was passing by and they were caught in this small room with constant turning on and off lights and he wanted to make him believe they were recruits? They pobably knew by now that they weren´t!

"... Do you really believe him? Naive . I´m going to get out of here ..."

But there was still the problem with the door. Either she´ll find the exit or she needed to break the wall to get out of here. Doesn´t matter which way, she would do.

" But he really c- Fine. How're you going to leave? "

Easier said than done. To him, he wasn't falling for any trick their 'enemy' had. It was probably a simple misunderstanding. Now that he thought about it, time was passing. The meeting with Kasai could've been delayed by now. Then again, he might not have been in the room yet. Doubting him, he was slightly less interested to help. But a promise was a promise. They had to leave and he had to help her any way he could. It just felt like she wanted to handle the situation by herself. He was curious though. How was she going to approach this?...

"Just one more question: Do you see the door we used to get into the room?"

She thought she fell for it. The mirrors, the lights and the door. Weird. He did broke the mirrors but there weren´t any fragments left. Imagination? No, deception. Mist flames. She just wanted to know if he could, at least, see the door. It was possible that the mirrors and lights were real and the illusion the thought of mist flames itself. If it was this way she couldn´t do anything besides breaking and destroying the whole room but that would draw attention to them and it would be hard getting out of their base.

"Since you want to work for Kasai ... you can do what you want when we´re out of this room. I won´t insist on keeping your promise anymore."

" No. It started to disappear around the time the lights were turned off the first time. Then from there, I lost focus on it, and had to block the blades. "

This must've been another one of those flame tricks. Something he wasn't really used to yet. Still a bit clueless when it came to that matter. There was one thing he did know about this type of illusion. This was done by the same type of flames the woman they ran into earlier had.

Cautiously, he went to the place where the door was. Now just like a wall, he reached out to feel it. Even as he was doing this, he was still alert about any incoming attacks.

"You noticed but you didn´t said anything?"

She sighed. Well, it was too late now and there was no time to start arguing. It was possible that the one who was trying to deceive them was the woman they met earlier but that meant also that cover has been blown away. Troublesome but another reason to hurry getting out of here. She looked around again. Maybe she could figure out another detail. Mist flames always have a week point. A point where you can break through if you locate it.

"Try again grabbing for the door. Maybe we´re lucky and a irregularity appears."