The boys talked in the car as if they were headed to a paradise full of beaches and women, a rest day per se.
"Hey, you know that love kind of thing? I found someone in the countryside Yasu.." Yuari was smug with his face, a voice of reason and tough decisions.
"Heh? What the hell did you do this time?" Yasu was questioning his decision knowing how little effort he puts into things like that in the past. High expectations, high demand for trying to initiate value with somebody. His love was not pure, his love was out of pure lust.
"Look, she's kinda good, but she smokes and likes all that nasty shit.."
"You like that, don't deny it, Yuri!! Yuri, why do you like this? Most of us are like that, but y'know hehe" Yasu replied to Yuari's shitshow, blatantly putting out the nicknames he's given all of his friends for an "easier" call.
"Just don't do it, it's not worth the smoker, look at Dairue for example, walking lung cancer. Hell, just go admire the cosplayers you keep sending me.." a voice emanating from the front seat said, Max was more potent and straightforward with what he thought about dating another smoker, having a disdain for tobacco addicts.
"This dude is acting like he's innocent, you've smoked before Max, you think I've forgotten?" Dairue, thinking he outsmarted his reply by pointing out Max's previous acts. His heinous smoking addiction was being called out for no reason by someone who's equally tormenting to be around.
"That's exactly why I have every right to tell you, not to do it.." Max responded with an assertive voice, knowing he was authoritarian in the vehicle despite their many disputes with adults and a-like.
Max stops replying to his petty rambles, Dairue's pride was over his head, unable to control the feeling of wanting to be right. It's okay to be looked down upon, as long as you're right, that being right is more important than being nice. They cut off each other temporarily for the rest of the ride.
They continued cruising for another hour, wondering why there were roads closed ahead.
"Forest fire? Are we headed to the forest fire thing, the one they showed us on the tv?" Yuari asked passionately, interested in the origins of how such a large fire started from such a tiny building.
"Oh yeah, what happened? That was like what, a week ago?" Yasu thought they were touring the burnt forest, closed from the public's eye.
They arrived at Window Town, and an eerie atmosphere came from how contemporary the town looked during the day.
The ground was cleared of ash, sidewalks were clean, trees were green as ever. The place looked clear of any fire, almost beautiful and serene, a place that would normally look desolate at night. Windows that were marked were cleared of any red paint, and broken glass was replaced with new jalousie.
The town was active, people were welcoming them as soon as they got out of the car. The smell of fresh grass and newly painted roofs, the signs were repainted white with gray frames. Peace, it was peace, yet it was wrongfully placed. Everything changed after the church burnt down to rubble
Dairue began to theorize that the government needed to do a refurnishing effort for the town's sake after it was caught up in the forest fire. They were quick on their feet in terms of repair efforts, however, he quickly turned down the idea of a week being enough to do everything. They began to walk towards the motel, the motel itself was uphill from where they parked their car.
The side of the road was an easier entry access to the highway in case things went wrong, yet they had to run downhill again when things went wrong.
"Somehow it is creepier seeing this place so clean rather than being so desolate.." Max whispered to the group, knowing that people might think of them otherwise, most of the citizens wore black coats that extended to their knees, some having clear umbrellas to go with their attire. It was cozy, one might say too cozy.
"Is this the place we were taking a vacation in?" Yasu was talking normally, he was quickly shushed by Dairue, advising him not to talk loudly and to keep shut if he can. Max took notice and kept to himself for the rest of the walk. Meanwhile, Yuari was too busy admiring the streets that were well-lit by the sun, the fresh atmosphere was almost haunting his mind.
There was humming in the streets, people were almost in unison with the way they walked, as if instructions were in place for every little action you do. Max desperately tried to fit in, from the way they walked to the way they held their bags. He tried hard not to put too much attention on himself, volunteering to be behind the entire team just to blend in more.
The team reached the motel, and there were plenty of brightly colored light bulbs outside, not lit, potentially waiting for the sky to go dark. The rest of them were comforted by the look of something "normal". The lights usually signified a truly active city, one that wasn't merely normal due to a simple effort of changing the perspective of people.
They looked like a misplaced puzzle with everybody else there, people were loud and conversational, meanwhile, they stood their ground, quiet and observational. The room had mats on the floor and two beds, Yasu and Yuari insisted they sleep on the floor, Max planned to sleep on the balcony and Dairue laid on the bed, back first into the soft white mattress.
"This is exactly what I needed after a long ride.." Dairue was sinking into sheets, thinking it was the most comfortable thing he had ever tucked his head into. gray pillows and a few windows that let the bright orange light of the sun inside.
After unpacking their things, Kenji went to get something to eat and changed his clothes to a similar color to the people. Max was staying behind no matter how much they tried to convince him to go outside, Yasu and Yuari asked if he wanted food, and the boy responded with a quick up-and-down nod, signaling the vending machine to the side of the hallway outside their door.
Kenji requests room service and takes the lunch option, Dairue stays up drinking nothing but soda, and Yasu and Yuari take their food to the table in the room. Max gets his food and quickly eats it all before thinking twice about what might've been placed in the food. With plastic spoons and forks, they dig into the rice, there is no need to think twice when the stomach grumbles for a meal.
All of them finish their food, Kenji merely eating a small box of donuts that he brought from his car. They reveal their guns, Yuari's eyes widen as he takes a pistol in his hand. Yasu denies holding it, afraid he might accidentally shoot something and make noise, he is confronted by Max, telling him that it was why they were there.
"No, nope, why are we here? You still haven't told me. Bro come on..." Yasu backed away from the gun, putting his hands up in rejecting such a kind and honorable offer.
"You a fuckin pussy? Maybe we're going to the shooting range!" Yuari quickly addressed after holding his gun and observing all the small details, he wanted to learn, he wanted to fire, and most importantly he wanted to keep himself safe.
Kenji finally revealed their true objective, long after they'd left their houses and settled in the motel, knowing there was no backing out.
"We're here to examine an underground, there are plenty of hidden pathways and tunnels that are presumably being used by a cult that resides nearby. We burnt the church because of it, we knew they were doing rituals inside and we took the perfect timing of when they were going to do it."
"What?! Why, seriously is that why? Like is this not a joke-? Dude, that's why we need guns?" Yasu was not only scared, but he was also willing to walk back to the city from where they were. He didn't care about the cult, he had no reason to fear them yet he still denied their offer. Soon, he calmed down and decided to think about things more clearly.
"Any proof that this cult exists? What are we against here..." Yuari was more than willing to help, diving headfirst into the details and what he had to do, he felt cool and sophisticated. In reality, he was against something unknown, an enemy that doesn't show itself until it's too late.
"I saw light, it was bright as the sun, blinding and it took place above the church. For some reason Kenji couldn't see it, sometimes it disappears at a certain angle and after going down, it was gone. It looked like a pasted image but it was in the sky and it was distorted." Max mentioned his previous experience with the imagery, yet they still didn't understand what was wrong.
An hour passes by, and Yuari is just admiring his gun, still asking Kenji questions about firearm safety. Both of them were entertained by each other's words. Yasu was having a mental breakdown, regretting why he came there without knowing what he was there to do. Shaking in a corner with a pistol in his hand, his state was slowly crumbling.
"My stomach... Aaah! Man, Dairue I don't think I can go, four of you go, I'll keep watch, for now, get started early! It's better..." Max was having stomach cramps, he held into his hand at sat in a fetal position, crunching his belly. The sharp rising pain was nearly unbearable for him, not knowing what he ate on the day prior.
The three leave the room, and Kenji stays behind, watching from the balcony window as they went out to the narrow street. Max was pale and his eyes were darkened below, he stood up for himself and decided to sit in the single chair present on the balcony
Dairue lead the two men, and they walked to the tunnel, which was buried in leaves below the trees. Flowers blossomed but the park itself was abandoned with vines growing in the side. They took the leaves away and found a secondary route that lead deeper into the grass.
"This is what Raiden was talking about... This is exactly the place we should've gone to." Dairue hinted at where it lead, it was said to exit out into another monument, but he was unsure.
"I can't see the end, do you have a flashlight, Yuri?" Yasu asked politely, fearing the tunnel less and less as they went inside.
"No, I only have my phone light on, it will do." Yuari held his gun with his flashlight, pointing forwards into the tunnel, his finger was not on the trigger, only lining the right side of the gun.
"Shh, keep quiet, our whispers echo, something might be on the other side..." Dairue did not want to risk anybody being noticed, even his legs were shaking at the unknown.
The circular tunnel was half flooded with dead leaves and moss covering the bottom. There were markings no markings on the side, no signs of vandalism, no signs of any human activity. The tunnel itself was as good as a drainage system, taking the form of a sewer more than an entryway for anybody brave enough to cross.
"Look, the back of the tunnel, did we get closed in? This is scary, this is not normal, I trusted both of you, I should've walked home the moment I saw g-guns... It can't be real no?" Yasu asked, losing focus on the path.
"Keep going forward, don't stop, Yasu just ignore it..." Yuari was acting like everything was going their way, nothing was normal, but he kept insisting it was part of their mission.
"Yuri, none of this is meant to be taken as a joke, we might get trapped in here. Dairue let's just turn back, it looks too dark to see both behind and forwards." he wasn't panicking he just felt as if there was nothing at the end.
"If you don't face forward, we might lose track of which way forward is. So please, just keep looking forward!" Dairue had an objective in mind, the tunnels were only the first step and they still have yet to cross.
At the end of the tunnel, it was night.
"What time was it?..." Yuari asked as he looked at his watch.
"It was 3:00 pm, it still is..." Yasu was confused at the mismatched look of the sky and his phone's timer.
"No, this has to be set up, the buildings, the-... Dairue stop pranking me, this thing looks like an amazing movie set, so real.." The survival instinct was in full force, his mind was focused on living more than questioning his eyes, an optical illusion. An optical problem he had to get fixed, for glasses, are deceiving, or are they?
"We're not safe here so we can't separate, stick close and listen to what I say. For now, let's find a spot we can mark, if something chases us, we run to that spot." Dairue went to the bushes beside the tunnel, making sure the mark was visible from a distance. Yasu walked around the forest, with rocks in circular patterns, and crooked trees.
The fog was visible through the streetlights that lined the road on both sides, alternating on each corner. The road itself was crooked, temples and shrines were visible on the fog's line, the sky a dark purple tint with a reddish hue. The three of them walked slowly over the road, the moment was silent, and nobody dared to speak.
All three of them look back to make sure that nothing changed, the tunnel was still there, nothing but forest and post lines filled overhead. They were curious about what would happen if they walked back above the tunnel, yet Dairue gave them a heads-up. He was threatening the other two about what might happen, Yasu could only listen and shiver, Yuari was more keen on heading to the temple.
The fog was thickening by the minute...