"Someone's watching us we can't delay on our investigation." Shinobu brushed the dirt off her sleeve. The impact of that ray was so strong the Earth was shaking underneath her feet. Now she was starting to wonder if the people back at that part of Atami felt it too.
Walking in front of his friend who seemed disturbed by the idea of another individual aware of their intent, Douma hummed and fanned himself, giving Shinobu the impression that he didn't care nor was he affected by it the shrine leader was laidback as always. This was starting to make her ticked off. If only Douma could understand how humans felt under these circumstances he had the privilege to not worry about such threats.
"If this person wants to watch us let them. I can always deliver them a brain freeze as an acknowledgement gift." Douma calmly replied.
"You're one to talk!" Shinobu shouted at him.
The minute Shinobu was about to say something else, Douma blocked her with his arm. Ahead of them was a grey building beside what looked to be a parking lot below. They had to go down the slope to reach the entrance; a gate that was most likely the backdoor.
"We're here this must be the headquarters."
"It's huge and operations seem to be ongoing." Shinobu ducked down with Douma since the area could be heavily guarded and they were out in an open area now.
"Let's go." Moving towards the end of the path Douma slowly walked down the slope leading to the gate.
Shinobu watched it looked like a long way down from where she was standing. Not that she was scared but there could be holes in the tall grass. If their legs get stuck that would be a nightmare there could be snakes hiding in there.
Creeping up quietly, Shinobu took a step forward and sighed in relief when she felt the ground beneath her feet.
Thank goodness there's nothing out of the ordinary here I'll just keep going. Taking another step, Shinobu's feet landed on a softer ground covered by a larger patch of grass.
"That's strange the ground's uneven." Right before Shinobu lifted up her feet the soil collapsed causing her to lose balance and tumble down the grassy slope.
Douma glanced behind him from the noise and saw Shinobu tumbling down towards him like a bowling ball he never expected her to get into a situation like this.
"Shinobu lookout!" The violette knocked into him causing the shrine leader to tumble down the slope as well.
A flock of birds flew away after seeing the duo rolling down the slope revealing a moss-covered log further down.
Both Douma and Shinobu bumped into the log with a loud thud. Rubbing her head from the impact, Shinobu got up and looked up to see the building and a few guards standing at the entrance with a serious look on their faces.
This isn't good we can't let them see us. Moving aside from where Douma was laying on the ground giddily, Shinobu peeped from the log to observe the activities going on at the gate. She was hoping to at least find something they could use or another way they could get in.
"Next time you decide to do something crazy at least let me know so I can make way." Douma said scratching his head.
Shinobu squinted her eyes at the entrance and noticed some movements from the stairs beside it. There were a group of armed men carrying something they got from the truck at the parking lot. It was shaped like a box covered in a dark grey cloth and moving vigorously. The men were struggling to keep it still.
"What is that they're carrying?"
"It seems alive just look at it moving." Douma observed the scene happening at the entrance. Even the guards were having a hard time controlling the box or cage.
Widening her eyes at the sudden jerk the cage made, Shinobu sat upright feeling uneasy. It was true, that was a cage and there was a living animal in there. They finally got to their destination.
"That poor animal is in danger!"
Douma quickly grabbed Shinobu's arm the violette was about to stand up and run towards the entrance, a bad idea especially in a foreign place that was known for being merciless.
"Shinobu what are you doing? If they see us we're screwed!"
"Hey let me go if we don't do something about it that animal could get hurt!"
"Do you even hear yourself right now? We don't know what's under that cloth this isn't worth it Shinobu come on!"
In anger Shinobu elbowed Douma in the face sending him backward with a yelp. A bruise was starting to form on the bridge of his nose.
Shinobu ran towards the gate which was surprisingly open despite the high security around the place. It was strange but maybe they had appointments with clients and customers. If so, they must be making a lot of profit from selling those exotic plants and animals that were taken from their habitat. The purple-haired girl wasn't going to let that slide, today she was going to put an end to it once and for all.
By the time Shinobu got to the entrance, the group of men and the cage had already gone in, leaving her with the two guards.
"Miss are you-
"Your reign of terror is over!" Shinobu yelled furiously. "Take any step closer and you'll be sorry!"
The guards exchanged confused glances with each other. "Who does this girl think she is?" One of them said.
"I don't know but we can't have her blocking this area."
Clenching her firsts, Shinobu braced herself for any attacks. Both guards were amused by this no matter how Shinobu tried to make herself seem intimidating it was no use, she had nothing to defend herself, they were holding weapons. They broke into laughter and prepared to dismiss her with a warning.
"Listen young lady, if you continue with this silly game of yours we're gonna have to get you to leave and we don't want to do that so go on now."
"Now don't be so harsh to your visitors." A figure landed behind the two guards and knocked them out in one hit.
Shinobu immediately recognized those rainbow hues.
"We have to hurry there's no time to lose." Douma said keeping his golden fan.
"Wait there's surveillance cameras we can't just sneak in like that."
"Don't worry I can handle that, no problemo." Douma's left eye started glowing as Shinobu watched what the blonde was about to do.
The surveillance camera at the entrance started going haywire as frost formed on its surface. Freezing the wires that gave out sparks indicating that it wasn't working anymore.
Soon all the surveillance cameras in the headquarters met the same fate, frost emerging on its surface and freezing the interiors. A disconnection occurred in the office right after one of the security guards went to get lunch leaving his sleepy workmate who passed out after that. The screen just displayed static and nothing else.
At the cafeteria, someone did notice the surveillance camera breaking down but didn't think much of it. They thought the system wasn't stable so it had temporary breakdowns often.
Both Douma and Shinobu leaped through the turnstile. Once they got in the headquarters the duo hid behind the crates and watched the guards and scientists outside the labs and rooms. There were so many of them.
"We can't get across in this traffic." Shinobu whispered to the shrine leader.
"Ready to turn invisible?"
That reminded Shinobu of what happened earlier when they just left Atami. Now she understood why Douma was so cautious about flying in mid-air it wasn't safe even if he turned her invisible there were risks.
"Douma I understand if you don't want to fly or turn invisible with me around. There's Atashi who could probably notice or sense us in the sky. If that happens our plan will be ruined." Shinobu sighed and looked away in guilt. "And we have to be extra cautious because there's a stalker on the loose."
"Can't stand that stalker huh?"
"What do you think?! I need some privacy!" Shinobu shrieked.
The blonde got up and casted the same spell that turned her invisible. Standing in her spot, Shinobu stiffened when she noticed her legs vanishing. This wasn't the first time she saw the invisibility spell running its coarse but it still freaked her out.
"Only for a while." Douma said to her. "We have to start moving unless you want me to carry you. I can too." He winked.
Fumes rising, Shinobu stepped forward and placed her hands proudly on her hips. "No thank you I can walk it's not that far from here."
"You sure about that? Alright then."
Both Douma and Shinobu ran down the row of labs towards the far end looking for an elevator that would lead them to the rest of the levels.