Saki woke up to find herself lying alone inside a room. She wondered if everything that happened was all just a dream. But the pain that shot through her body as she tried to get up told her it was all real.
Her body felt like lead. She hadn't felt this battered since her uncle started training her in all kinds of martial arts.
And if that wasn't enough, a shot of pain pierced through her right temple.
Ugh. Feels like a major migraine is coming.
She turned to see if her bag was there. Thankfully, she found the black backpack on the bedside table. Quickly, she searched for her lens case.
She sighed with relief as her headache began to fade into a dull ache.
She looked around the familiar room and realized that she was in one of the villas for rent near the bottom of the mountain just a few meters before the mountain trail begins.
Wanting to get some fresh air, she got up and headed out of the room. Walking to the balcony, she stretched her limbs, trying to ease the pain in her muscles.
She found Hunter leaning on the balcony rails.
"You're up," he said as he noticed her presence.
"Mm…"
"How are you feeling?"
"Like an entire pyramid has fallen down on me," she whined.
Hunter chuckled. "Spoken like a true archaeologist."
"Of course," she replied proudly. "I am one, after all."
She was the one who came and stood beside him. Even so, Saki couldn't help but feel conscious about how dangerously little the distance was between their bodies.
"Your team is safe," he began, answering the question that was on her mind. "Hamarr and the others are bringing them back down as we speak."
"Thank you," she replied.
"But before they arrive," Hunter continued. "I think we need to talk about what happened up there first."
Saki remained quiet as she looked at Hunter in the eye, trying to discern what he was thinking.
Truthfully, she herself couldn't wrap her mind around last night's encounter. It all still felt surreal. Like it happened to her and at the same time it didn't. The closest thing she could think of to explain would be like playing virtual reality.
Yet something in her subconscious tells her that it was no illusion.
"What are you planning?" she finally replied.
"First of all, we need to get out of this valley."
She nodded. Then stopped. "But --"
Hunter shook his head. "Your safety comes first before any artifact that can be found at the summit."
Saki kept her silence despite squinting her eyes into a glare. She agrees that they can't be sure that there will be no more ambushes waiting for them. However…
"How do you know that we can find an artifact there?" she asked.
It was only for a half-second, but Saki was able to catch a moment of hesitation on Hunter.
He knows something.
"This entire valley is one of the places involved in the Gempei War," Hunter quickly replied. "I'm sure you'll find something."
She raised an eyebrow but said nothing. She wasn't planning to go back up there anyway. At least, not yet.
Hunter cleared his throat. "As I was saying, we need to get out of here first. Once we regroup, we're going straight to the airport. We're taking my plane back to Tokyo."
He said those words in a tone that allows no room for discussion.
That being said, Saki, of course, spoke her mind nonetheless.
"I can't leave my car," she said with similar finality.
"Calad can drive it back."
"..."
"I can't let you go back with the others. It's dangerous."
"I know…"
"You have a leak in your team, Saki."
"I KNOW!"
She drew back, surprised at the sudden rise of her own voice. However, she couldn't help but feel protective of her own team. They have been together for years. They were like her family. The thought of any one of them doing something behind her back, let alone endangering them, was something she couldn't bring herself to think about.
Tears were beginning to form at the corner of her eyes and she averted Hunter's glance, turning to look the other way.
"I'll take care of it," she said quietly, as if steeling herself for the dilemma at hand.
"Hamarr and I can sound them out," Hunter offered.
She shook her head. "No, this is between me and my team. I'll be the one to take care of it."
It didn't take long before the others arrived and suddenly, Saki was swarmed by her teammates who wanted to make sure that she was okay.
Saki glanced at them one by one, trying to look for anything that can betray their thoughts.
This is crazy, she thought as she said encouraging words to her battle-weary men.
Out of the corner of her eye, Saki notices the young girl from last night. She turned her head a bit to see that she was standing a few meters away from them...
OPENLY STARING AT JIRO.
What was her name again? Was it Katana? No, wait... Nakano. She said her name was Nakano when Hunter introduced them to each other. Why did she think her name was Katana?
Saki could see that Nakano's face reflected a mixture of surprise and apprehension.
No. It can't be. Does she think Jiro is the trai -- the one who betrayed them?
Saki shook her head, as if to dispel the doubts that are beginning to form in her mind.
Lunch was a sombre affair. The cheerful banter that was there the night before they ascended the mountain was nowhere to be seen. Everyone was exhausted and were still in shock.
While danger was nothing new to the members of the exploration team, the ones they usually dealt with were structural collapse from caves, ruins, and other dig sites, as well as a handful of wild animals and poisonous insects. In short, none that involved having to fight other people.
Perhaps the only one who was coping better than the others, apart from Hunter's men (and woman), was Frank.
Frank was in the army, Saki told herself. Of course, he's more used to fighting with other people as compared to others. Stop trying to find fault in every little thing.
But the seeds of doubt had been planted, much to Saki's frustration. She began to feel panicked and insecure. The dull throbbing in her head began to surface.
" --ss."
Saki jumped upon feeling a hand over her shoulder.
"You okay, boss?" a voice said behind her.
She turned to see Jake with a worried look in his eyes.
"I- I'm fine," she replied. "Just have a bad headache."
"If you're not feeling well, maybe you should just stay for the night? Then we can all go back together tomorrow."
She was about to reply when Hunter appeared next to her and suddenly picked Jake's hand off her shoulder.
"She needs to get home quickly and rest," he said, eyeing Jake darkly. "I have a plane waiting for me at the airport. I can have her home before nightfall."
Taken aback by the sudden hostility, Jake took one last look at Saki as if to plead his case.
"I see. I apologize for my meddling." He took a step back then turned around and walked away.
----------------------
They have decided to separate into two groups. Saki, Hunter, Hamarr, Nakano, and the two others who were left behind at camp -- Tizon and Damos -- are to travel back to Tokyo first. The rest are to spend the night in the villa to prepare for the long drive back the next day.
No one mentioned what happened in the summit when every body fell asleep. Those who were awake during that time kept silent, as if they were following an unspoken rule.
Saki also decided to keep the events of that night to herself... at least for now.
It was a long and awkward ride to the airport. Saki and Hunter sat on the back with Hamarr on the driver's seat. The others rode in another car.
Saki watched the scenery through the window as she pondered about what happened back in the valley.
As if the place was not done with dealing her surprises one after the other, Saki had one last mystery presented to her right before the set off.
It was Jiro who called her away from the others. His face looked haggard and has aged considerably in the past two days.
"Boss," he began. "I- I thought you should see this."
He held out his hand and opened his fist. Resting on his palm was a plain red sword tassel. Saki could see in one glance that this was no ordinary tassel. It seemed new, but the design and pattern indicates that it was made with techniques used in the past.
"Where did you find this?" she asked.
"I don't know," he stammered. "When I woke up this morning, it was already in my pocket."