Ergon V

As soon as he began descending the stairs that led him to the fifth floor, Hayato had the feeling that something was wrong. He was crouching as he leaned his back against the stairwell's exit door, right beneath the crash bar. A few moments before, he had peered Kazuto entering the men's bathroom, always under the constant gaze of one of Amaterasu's operatives who was now standing guard in front of the doorway. He was clutching his rifle in resting position on the sling, close to his c.h.e.s.t. Hayato himself was carrying the M4 carbine he gained from Ren-san along with his equipment and his rather unconformable mask.

Since Saori had gotten into the terrorists' radio frequency thanks to that which he had also taken from Ren-san, he received instructions from his sister regarding the location of other gunmen on the floor in real time. Between the tactical scanning she had done in advance and the small-scaled ones confined to nearby areas she was currently performing, he was able to act on the basis of a substantial amount of information to avoid detection. And yet, he never considered his own ineptitude would be the one to trigger a disaster.

"Oh, shit," he said in a low voice as soon as he realized his mistake. "I think I forgot to close the cubicle door with the unconscious terrorist."

"You gotta be kidding me," replied his sister through the radio with a hint of disappointment. "Could you stop being so recklessly stupid for once?!"

What a damn fool! How could he have overlooked something as crucial as that? In any manner, now was not the time to mourn, but to act. Somewhere deep in his subconscious, the young Sugiyama knew the mission had priority over the life of a single person. After all, in borderline situations, saving a life could mean others would be endangered as a consequence. But this case was the exception. The life that was in jeopardy was not an ordinary one. His sister and his father would surely understand the situation in which he found himself, as would those who supervised their activities. Yet, even so, all of his training had taught him that he should keep collecting information without announcing his presence. He knew extracting the young man would bring unnecessary complications.

Be that as it may, one life was still a life. And there was no turning back now because he had already made his decision.

"Look, we knew someone was going to find the soldier's body sooner or late," he said to his sister. "The thing is that now I will be forced to intervene, or then we'll have to deal with some serious shit."

That much was true. Whatever happened in that bathroom, someone would pay the price, for the terrorists would inevitably learn what had taken place. It was a fact. After all, it would be impossible for Hayato to personify two members of Amaterasu considering their level of planning and organization.

Nonetheless, there were moments in which her sister proved just as stubborn as he was. "Whatever. Keep up with your brilliant suicidal ideas," she yielded at last, not without first expressing her disagreement with her innate eloquence. Once again, she would have no choice but to follow his plan giver her position. In spite of that, Hayato kept questioning whether they had both come from the same w.o.m.b. Would she ever stop opposing him? Although he had made a mistake, his sister had not bothered to examine the door once they left the bathroom either. Both were to blame for it.

"And you keep showing your support to your dear brother with so much enthusiasm..."

It was then that the terrorist turned towards the door and gave it a light tap with his knuckles. "Are you done there, kid?"

Hayato clenched his teeth as he felt a chill run through him. He was even unable to ease the tension that had begun knotting in his c.h.e.s.t, all of a sudden. And yet, just as the terrorist walked into the bathroom given the absence of an answer from inside, Hayato himself began moving toward it. He took cautious steps toward the opened door, measuring his pace to avoid making things worse by giving away his position, thus forcing the situation to a greater extent.

But as soft as the sounds he made were, they echoed off the hall loud enough he had to wince with every movement. He was afraid he would give himself away. He gripped his rifle tightly in both hands, the collapsible stock wedged between his cheek and shoulder as he kept his upper body leaned forward, his knees also bent in response. It was a necessary stance to be taken if one wanted to prevent any und.e.s.i.r.ed side effects to occur in his physique. After all, the momentum generated as a result of a fire discharge would be transferred to the ground through his body, although Hayato hoped the situation would not come to that.

As he positioned himself near the entrance, he was already able to hear what was happening inside. "What's going on here, weak ladder?" said the terrorist. Damn. Everything seemed to suggest that Sugiyama-kun was already aware of his mistake, or else the terrorist would not have reacted to it so quickly.

"It wasn't me, I swear it!" yelled Kazuto in panic, almost begging for mercy. "I just found it like that and I didn't know what to do when—"

Being unable to restrain himself, Hayato entered the bath at once. "It's alright, Kazuto," was the first thing he said, trying to reassure the young student.

It was not as if he himself was more relaxed, his own adrenaline pumping all over his body relentlessly. He was able, however, to properly aim his gun at the terrorist, holding the handguard a couple of centimeters below the line of sight to his target. He had to let go of it for a few moments to close the door, but he moved it back to the handguard as soon as he could. He would not give him even the slightest advantage.

Both the terrorist and Kazuto were standing in front of the cubicle where Ren-san rested, the dangerous man leveling his weapon to the floor, relaxed. But instead of looking at the unconscious body of the man who was inside, now they were both watching him. Sugiyama-kun hands were trembling, the features of his face fearful and in a state of constant alert as though he had seen a ghost. That was not good. He would have to relax so that he could follow his instructions for both of them left that room unharmed.

Hayato was a man of action, so he carried forward the first thing that came to mind. He did not stop to think if it was the best option available, or if, as his sister had said, their identities were already compromised to a certain degree. The young Yoshimura took off his mask before the bewildered look of his classmate and his foe. It was evident none of them saw that coming, but at least Kazuto would have to trust in his words more than in those of a stranger, would he not?

"I don't remember having seen you before," spoke the terrorist first as Hayato threw away the awful thing. "Who the hell are you?"

Hayato paid him no mind, focusing on gaining his classmate's trust instead. "Listen to me, Kazuto. I know things look confusing right now, but I need you to and do as I say."

Kazuto swallowed, tense. He cast a quick glance at the cubicle where the body of the unconscious terrorist had been for the past few minutes, his eyes haunted and his voice thick with doubt. "What are you talking about? Are you on the side of the terrorists?"

Unlike the young man standing next to him, the terrorist did not seem to have any doubts regarding Hayato. His eyes had twisted into a menacing stare, his jaw clenched as the lines in his forehead grew deeper. He began to raise his rifle cautiously—

"Don't you even think about it!" Hayato barked at him, threatening him with the muzzle of his own weapon. He spoke to Sugiyama-kun without shifting his eyes away from the terrorist. "Kazuto, I need you to move away from him, now!"

At that point, Hayato could feel his heart beating in his throat. Things were escalating beyond his control. He saw anger and fire in the eyes of the criminal, while those of the high school student kept darting between the two figures in black as if he could not decide who to trust.

"You're not one of us, are you?" the terrorist said, a hint of menace in the edge of his voice.

Hayato could not help to look away from him for a brief moment as he raised his rifle with some subtlety. He was more focused on gaining the trust of Sugiyama-kun, for which he resolved to look him straight in the eyes. "Kazuto, listen to me and move away from him—!"

What cropped up then was something Hayato should have anticipated from the outset.

In little more than a fraction of a second, Kazuto rushed toward the cubicle, moving behind the terrorist as he himself was raising his rifle to meet Hayato's threat. The young Sugiyama, however, was not willing to resort to his own weapon, so he resolved to go for him with all the weight of his body. Thanks to the momentum he gained, he managed to pin him to the wall. He put out all the force he could muster against him with the help of his rifle, but he still had to struggle to keep him locked up. From the corner of his eye, Hayato glanced at Kazuto, who had shrunken himself into a ball, seemly frozen with fear.

Yet the terrorist was tenacious, and Hayato was not sure how much longer he could hold him back. All he managed to come up with in response was to headbutt him. He felt a burning pain in his forehead as a result, but at least he forced the terrorist to throw his weapon to the ground. As he tossed his own rifle aside, he kicked his foe in the pit of his stomach, giving himself the impulse to back off in the process.

Somehow, the bastard gained back his footing in a jif—Hayato already throwing a spinning-wheel kick to keep him at bay. But even if he received a hard blow that slammed him backward into the wall, the man drew a knife from one of his pockets straight away and lunged toward Hayato with an outstretched arm. Fortunately, his attack was to slow and predictable. Through a rapid succession of precise movements, Hayato first blocked the hand in which he had the knife with his left one, holding it firmly to prevent him from maneuvering with the blade. Next, he employed his right elbow to smash his jaw, to then seize his right wrist with both hands. Finally, he twisted his arm and forced him to bury his own knife in the area of his kidneys—or at least the bulletproof vest in between—and finished him off with a knee to the stomach.

As the terrorist dropped his knife, his arms now lowering to his belly for protection as he bent in pain, he scrambled to his feet once more. He was a tough nut to crack, for sure. Once he took a few moments to catch his breath, he cried out in anger, summoning what little strength he had left in one last attack full of courage. It was a bold act, without a doubt, albeit useless. His punches were weak, so Hayato had no problem deflecting them. Once he found an opening as he backed toward the area of the sinks, the young man delivered a powerful knifehand chop to his carotid artery. His attack was as subtle as penetrating, causing a slight disruption of oxygen to the terrorist's brain. This, in conjunction with the wear and tear as a result of the combat, caused him to feel dizzy and to lose his balance. All Hayato needed to knock him out was a roundhouse kick at head-level, Amaterasu's man smashing his head against the large mirror to then fell unconscious over one of the bath sinks until he touched the floor.

Once everything was over, Hayato grasped for breath for a few moments. While his training had proven effective, this was something different from fighting hand in hand with a suit. He could feel the wear and tear on his joints along with a burning sensation in the muscles of his arms and legs. And yet, he gathered some strength to head toward the body of the terrorist. He dragged him from his legs back to the cubicle where his fellow comrade was.

"Could you please get out?" he said to Kazuto, who was still curled up on the floor. The young man stared at him, shocked. Hayato could barely empathize with what he was going through given his own exhaustion. Still, his classmate complied, rising to his feet and stepping aside. Once he had settled the body over the other unconscious corpse, Hayato proceeded to close the door—this time making sure it was properly locked—and then turned to Kazuto.

Hayato took a deep breath. "I need you to come with me, Kazuto," he said, trying to sound confident.

His classmate, however, did not look convinced enough, his gaze fixed on the cabin as if he were refusing to believe what had occurred a few moments before. His eyes were wide in alert, almost motionless. The expression on his face was that of a person who had witnessed something dreadful.

Then, out of the blue, Kazuto reacted and came to himself. "W-Where?" he asked in a skeptical tone, struggling to get the words out of his mouth. "A-And what the hell is all this? W-Why are you involved in it? I won't go anywhere with you until you give me an explanation!"

Hayato began exasperating. He had no time for this; they had to get out of there as soon as possible before the situation became even more delicate than it already was. Yet, he reminded himself he had to be patient and try to come up with a way to make him see. "Right now, I can only give you the quick version. I'm an undercover Sentinel operative. My sister is one too, that's why we separated from the group before. We were here to accomplish a mission, but the terrorists changed our plans."

"A Sentinel?" Sugiyama-san began bobbing his head, his mind trying to make sense of what he had just heard. "You mean those 'Vigilantes'?"

Good, good. It was possible his brief performances and those of his sister had made some impression on Kazuto. He would have to hold on to that to convince him. "Yeah, something like that."

Kazuto rubbed his head, now even more confused than he was before. Had Hayato done something wrong? Had he not been convincing enough? At best, he ought to have made him consider the situation he was into. Kazuto would have to trust in him more than the terrorists.

"But—but what about my friends?" he asked, his mind seemly racing as he tried to couple with the facts that had been presented to him. "And the other students? What will happen to them?"

"I assure you we are working to get them out of here as soon as possible. But we need your help."

"Me?" Kazuto said in disbelief as if he had not heard correctly. "Why me?"

Hayato flared his nostrils, wanting to wrap up the whole thing right away. "Look, first let me get you out of here, and then I'll give you all the answers you need, okay?"

Sugiyama-san was not entirely convinced, of that Hayato was sure, but his head began nodding in approval and that was all he needed for the moment. "Okay," Kazuto replied in a low voice.

Both students headed for the doorway as Hayato realized the real problem had not yet arisen. After all, it was only a matter of time before the terrorists would come to realize that Kazuto Sugiyama had never returned from his brief trip to the restroom.