Chapter 10

“You…” Teri took a bite of his bread. The door on the other side of the room hasn’t been touched. No weird sounds either. Looks like they can relax for longer. “You absolutely sure she’s here?”

“Not absolutely.” Yayoi lowered her head and rubbed the back of her neck. “I just get the feeling that she’s here. Like, this dungeon feels… terribly familiar to me.” Her words felt a bit more restless than poised. “We also both died at the same time, so—”

“What can you tell me about her?” Teri and Taku said at the same time. Both paused to look at each other, confused.

“Well… well… well…” Taku raised a brow, grinning. “I didn’t think our corner connoisseur here would be so interested.”

“Well, hearing your thoughts feels illegal too, so I won’t even ask,” Teri replied, nodding to him and Yayoi—though she didn’t seem amused about the bit. “In all seriousness, do tell us. Who’s your sister? What is she like? Any quirks? Something for us to notice so we can immediately tell it was her.”

Silence fattened the air. Yayoi furrowed her brows. She kept her head low, her gaze darting from Teri, Taku, to the floor, and everywhere else in the room. She swallowed her words. She nodded to herself. She’s looking for something deep within.

“I’m serious.” Teri smiled at her. Again, he’s unsure if this look of his was convincing enough, but his words seemed like a shock to her. “Really.”

“I also wanna help,” Taku added, sounding a bit less dramatic and a bit too sincere this time. Borderline creepy. Something like a thug would say. “We’re friends. Friends help each other out.”

“Excuse me?” She flinched at Taku’s words. Wide-eyed, she raised her voice. “Excuse me, but by what standards are we friends?”

“Me?” Taku pointed to himself.

“Yeah. Him,” Teri said, giving her a helpless grin while pointing to Taku. “He said so. So now, you’re my friend too… Though I won’t forget that you threatened to kill us in our sleep.”

“Are you asking for an apology?”

“Definitely not.”

Yayoi glared at Teri. “Bitch…”

“Shrimp,” Teri snapped back, hugging his backpack even tighter and flexing the comfort of his corner and the bit of bravery it offers.

“Anyway.” Taku said, raising his voice as Teri and Yayoi were about to throw hands at each other. “Let’s get back to the important matter at hand. So, we don’t know much about this dungeon, but I can say that the loot is shit. Like, the person that tried to put us here literally wants us to die instead of win. There should be some kind of reward in every room, but there isn’t. The monsters aren’t dropping anything either. What I mean is that she’s going to most likely be wearing her original clothes. So, what else is she wearing?”

“As far as I can remember…” She lowered her head once more, her voice becoming more erratic as she talked. “She paired that oversized blue hoodie with a l-long black skirt. She’s also wearing a pair of boots, though not as high as mine. I’m not particular about my clothes since most of the stuff I own are for work, but my sister is different. I make sure that she gets to dress as cute as she wants, the way she w-wants, as much as possible.”

“Goddamn—” Taku turned away to breathe. He slapped the floor a couple of times. Then, he pointed his serious gaze to Yayoi once again. “The skirt. How long are we talking about?”

“Bro—”

“It’s important!” Taku growled at his best friend. Literally.

“I don’t know.” Yayoi gripped her shoulder. “Long. Maybe? Pairing that with her boots… I remember just seeing a bit of her legs when she walks…”

“Duly noted.” Taku leaned back, massaging his back and cupping his chin as though in deep thought. “We’re also looking for a smell that might linger…” He shushed Teri before he could even react. “Does she wear perfume? And if so, what perfume is she wearing?”

“Ro…” Yayoi covered her mouth. “Roses… Something like roses. If she had perfume, that’s what she’s wearing.”

“Thanks for that,” Teri interjected before Taku could ask additional questions to paint a better image in his head. “Do you have other things you can tell us about her?”

Yayoi hung her head once more. Her eyes seemed strained, spiraling and sinking to the floor. Teri knew the look—he beat up enough people to know. The way her gaze jumped from one place to another. Her mind was stirring, stringing moments to moments, connecting events to events, trying to make sense of what it truly knows and doesn’t. Teri smiled to himself. He was, once again, made aware of his own habit. He would’ve left her like this. But without any thought, he found this moment where he felt like he could and should do something about it.

Seven seconds. Still covering her mouth. Yayoi raised her head and found her eyes locked with Teri. Yeah. She didn’t know anything about her sister. She didn’t wanna say it. She didn’t want to hear it either. Teri could at least tell that much. And that’s okay. Teri nodded at her. Then, he faced his best friend.

Taku was watching him. Confused. Worried. Maybe he’s too pure… or maybe he doesn’t get it yet. It was at least comforting to know. Maybe, this was the moment he could tag in and comfortably insert himself into the conversation. And with the plan he’s thinking, Taku might be in it too.

“Thanks. We got plenty to work with. The rest of it is unnecessary, but that’s just Taku being weird. Please, forgive him. He needs a lot of it.” Teri pushed himself away from the corner and tapped Taku’s shoulder on the way out. Right. He just needed to trust Yayoi’s word and believe that her sister is here. They’ll know when they find her. “Got myself a nice break. I think I was able to catch my breath and keep going. How about you, Taku?”

Taku raised his brow, grinning. “Snacked and ready.”

Yayoi watched Taku get on his knees and, giving his exit a dramatic flair, proceed to cartwheel out of their space—and cringing when he almost fell over to a bunch of trophies on the floor. He picked himself up too at the next second, dusting his shirt and pretending that nothing happened. Wordlessly, he picked up his staff and started posing in front of them, sometimes flapping his cloak to make himself look cool and all the more ready.

“So, we’ll avoid exploring north as much as possible.” Teri said, going back and picking up his backpack he forgot to bring on the way. “Instead, we’ll take you back to our starting area; I remember seeing a door on the southern side of that room, and it will definitely lead us somewhere far away from those crazy bastards. On the way, we’ll pass an intersection that also leads to a bloody door—if everyone is comfy and confident enough, maybe we can go there, kick ass, and grab some loot.”

Taku gave Teri a very approving nod. “We’ll move under the assumption that another starting area exists and that your sister is around there. So, we’ll be extra careful. We will not be picking any risky fights; when we do, we’ll defeat our enemies as fast as possible. We will also be searching every room that we go through—for more loot and clues. And for our formation: Teri will be at the front, the tank, he will rush in and take hits, maybe kill enemies if he can; I will be in the middle, providing support for now as a future Wizard King, I’m tanky too by the way; and you will be at the back, making sure we won’t get ambushed. I’ll discuss the rest of our formation as we go. But for now… do you get it?”

Yayoi blinked, even more confused than before. They may have gotten too excited speaking about their plan moving forward. Teri wished that she didn’t see them as insane or worse, a couple that’s too in-tune with each other’s thoughts.

Yayoi shook her head. “Why... What... Where... What are we doing?’”

“Dungeon crawling,” Teri replied, “also your sister. We gotta find her.”

Yayoi said, wide-eyed and about to laugh. “But why?”

“We’re friends. Friends help each other out,” Taku repeated with a pure smile. “Also, because it’s goddamn fun.”