CHAPTER 12
RABBIT 12: Nimble
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Michifuku: “Pull, Tatesada-san! There’s no way you’re this weak, right?!”
Tatesada Hakaru: “I think you’re the weak one, here…”
Multiple wires belonging to phone chargers were tied to one another in tight knots, and around the grate inside, courtesy of Michifuku-san’s nimbleness. With great effort, the two inside pulled and pulled, hoping to knock the grate from its position, giving them access to the vent plate it defended.
Michifuku-san’s arms and legs were cut to shreds, from her short journey through the vent and back.
Tatesada Hakaru: “How inconvenient can this situation be? O’course they thought to put another blockade in that vent!”
Michifuku: “Stop whining and help me!”
Michifuku-san had let go of the cable, presumably coming up with a better idea to loosen the grate.
Michifuku: “Lift me up again!”
Tatesada Hakaru: “Alright…”
And with little energy to refuse her request, Tatesada-san brought her up to the same position, with her hands still wrapped around the cables inside.
Michifuku: “Uppphh!”
And with youthful energy, she leaped off his shoulders, still hanging onto the cable inside.
Tatesada Hakaru: “Ehhh?!”
BANG!
Michifuku: “Hehe… that’s a good sound, don’t you think?”
Tatesada-san helped her back up, lifting her into the same position so she could get a better look at the source of the noise. Pushing her head through the vent, she turned to her right, eyeing the grate which had fallen from its earlier height.
Michifuku: “Okay, now I just gotta climb through again…”
Like earlier, Michifuku-san climbed through the vents, cutting her limbs on the rough, jagged edges and corners lining the duct, with every slice expelling a sound from her chest.
Michifuku: “Ow! Ow, ow ow! OW!!!”
Tatesada Hakaru: “Are you sure you’re not dying in there?!”
She reached the corner where the horizontal vent rotated to vertical, forcing whoevers inside to climb upwards if they wanted to escape. After reaching this point, Michifuku-san had to slowly rotate herself, so she was facing upwards rather than downwards. This resulted in more long edges slicing through her thighs and forearms. Due to the lack of space, using anything to protect her skin and muscle was futile, as it would only make it impossible to move.
After properly rotating to face upwards, Michifuku-san had to move further than before - in order to climb up and reach the vent plate. A lot of stress was placed on the duct, despite Michifuku-san’s light weight. The main problem now was figuring out how to remove the vent plate from the inside. Pulling it down would only result in damaging the duct, possibly making it impossible to remove the plate. And pushing it out would be impossible given the space, and the pressure placed on the duct face below her feet. But, the openings on the vent were spacious enough to allow Michifuku-san’s fingers to slip through, up to her lower knuckles. In her theory, she expected this to be enough room to allow her to use the yen coin on the screws, unscrewing the plate from the outside. Even if it proved unable to work on all four screws, as long as she was able to loosen one or two, she might be able to knock the plate off from the inside with her fist or shoulder.
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Passing her right middle finger and thumb through the small gap, Michifuku-san tried to reach the closest screw… but to no avail. There was too much distance in between, and the small yen coin could barely tap against the screw.
Michifuku: “Damnit, Tatesada-kun! It won’t reach!”
Tatesada Hakaru: “Seriously? Geez, just come back then…”
Michifuku: “And get cut to shreds again?!”
Letting out a defeated sigh, Michifuku-san loosened her grip on the coin… until she felt a cold hand press against her fingertips, taking the item from her.
Daikubara: “This’ll do rightly, I think…”
Michifuku: “...Eh? Old man?!”
Daikubara: “Yeah, yeah, you brat. The hell are you doing in there? I knew you were tiny, but this is going a bit too far.”
Tears of joy overwhelmed her dusty face, as Daikubara-san unscrewed the plate, lifting it off.
Daikubara: “Come on up, already. You’re bleeding everywhere!”
Daikubara’s strong, right arm pulled the girl out, the soft wind blowing the dust from her head. A desperate hug was thrown Daikubara-san’s way, but he held her back, not wanting the dust to fall on him too.
Daikubara: “Where’s the other one?”
Michifuku: “Inside, still. It’s Tatesada-kun. I don’t think he’ll fit through…”
Daikubara: “You alright in there, kid?”
Tatesada Hakaru: “Eh? Old geezer?”
Daikubara: “...Just wait for a bit, we’ll sort something out to help you.”
Holding Michifuku-san still, Daikubara-san looked at her wounds. Multiple lacerations were across her thighs and arms, requiring immediate attention to prevent major blood loss. Of course, Daikubara-san had very little to offer in help.
Michifuku: “...Don’t worry, I didn’t come unprepared.”
Pulling small bandages from her pocket, as well as fresh water, Michifuku-san fell to the concrete roof bed, leaning against the base vent she had climbed out of. Daikubara-san roughly covered her lacerations, which quickly stained red.
Daikubara: “Before I grab the kid, wanna tell me what the hell happened here?”
Michifuku: “...Okay.”
…
Moments before Michifuku-san had registered the vent as a possible escape…
Michifuku: “Chargers, huh? Wish I brought my phone…”
Tatesada Hakaru: “H-Hey, did you hear that?”
Michifuku: “Hm?”
The two stood in silence for a moment, before Michifuku-san again spoke.
Michifuku: “...Yeah, I don’t hear anything.”
Tatesada Hakaru: “Shh!”
…
…
…A faint sound.
A shrill scream, or maybe even a shriek, echoing through the air vent above.
Tatesada Hakaru: “...That, just now… that was–”
Michifuku: “Y-Yeah, no doubt…”
The two listened closer, with more screams being heard over the duration of a few minutes.
Michifuku: “W-We should do something!”
Tatesada Hakaru: “What?”
Michifuku: “I don’t know, yell?! Ask them if they need help?!”
Tatesada Hakaru: “And attract whatever’s making them scream?”
Michifuku: “...”
…
Daikubara: “...I see. You know who it was, making that racket?”
Michifuku: “No, but… you haven’t seen them, have you? Kobayashi-san or Itogaya-san…”
Daikubara: “...Not exactly, but–”
Michifuku: “What’s that smell?”
The scent had reached Michifuku-san’s nose. In morbid curiosity, she peaked over the roof, eyeing the corpse of the fox.
Daikubara: “...They killed one of the bastards lurking round here, I think. Some sort of animal, like a fox.”
Michifuku: “T-There’s so much blood–”
Daikubara: “Listen, neither of them are here. Besides, Itogaya left a message on the wall tellin’ me you two were inside. They should be alright.”
Daikubara: “They couldn’t tell me where they were, though, considerin’ there might be more enemies around…”
Michifuku: “Ghh…”
Daikubara: “You ain’t got a reason to cry. Besides, we gotta get that kid out, and fast–”
A sudden, loud noise echoed through the vent, followed by a yell from Tatesada-san. The two, without exchanging words between one another, rushed to the vent, yelling for the boy.
…Which was met by the response of a deep, guttural growl.
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BIND GAME