"What… did he just do to her…?" Jiro asked Ritsuka. Ritsuka glanced at the woman and then at his brother. He shrugged. He wasn't truly aware of what this was. He had seen it once or twice before, but was unsure how Lee Seng (and even Keng) could do such a thing. Lee Seng moved over to the group and looked at the girl.
"What do we do about her?" Ritsuka asked.
"Leave her be. She's in a harmless nightmare." Lee Seng replied. He flicked a finger up and three coins pulled from the unconscious bodies. "Their payment for bothering us and trying to harm us. Here, you can have it." He let the coins float to the girl. She snagged them and stuffed them in her pocket.
"I-I could've handled it!" The girl shouted. She began to turn, only to feel bad about not giving a proper thanks like her parents had taught her. She turned with her eyes shut and bowed. "Thank you for protecting me. I appreciate you helping me, but you didn't have to!" She quickly turned and started to walk a random direction.
"Before you go," Jiro turned to the girl. "What's your name?" The girl stopped and turned.
"My name's Yuna." The girl introduced herself. "Do you think six coins are enough to go home?"
"You're probably the one with the most coins." Jiro nodded. "Are you sure you don't want to stay with us, Yuna? We can watch your back." She shook her head at Jiro's question.
"I just want to go home. I… thought you were going somewhere else?" Yuna asked.
"We are." Lee Seng stepped over. "Hold still." He lifted his hand and Yuna twitched in fear for a second. She had seen the horrible display the adults had in this place. She didn't have an adult to protect her. She was unlucky to be away from her parents right now.
A golden light washed over Yuna. The anxiety, the fear, the sad emotions in her chest was relieved. Whatever this man was doing, she could feel her body's strength grow.
"My name's Lee Seng." Lee Seng smiled at Yuna. "I want to help you go home, so how about we go to the nearest store together so you can submit your coins? That way the timer can go down faster and you can possibly leave sooner, hm?"
Yuna thought for a moment and nodded. Lee Seng felt like her dad. He had a warm aura about him despite his insane skill she had just witnessed earlier.
"Sure thing, mister." Yuna smiled.
The four of them walked together. Jiro took it upon himself to talk with the girl. For a moment, it felt like this insane game was over. They entered the nearest convenience store. It had been ransacked. Items spilled all over the floor as Jiro and Yuna moved over to the counter. A strange projection appeared as if knowing the coins were near.
"Please set your coins on the table." The projection spoke.
"Here, let me help you up, Yuna." Jiro whispered to the girl. She set her coins down and watched them disappear.
"You have given… Six coins… Six coins equates to twenty-four hours. Reducing hours…!"
A loud horn blared.
"Wow! Someone gave six coins like nothing?!? What have you guys been doing out there? Lucky you! Hm, it seems like there's four of you. This won't do! Only one can leave, who's it gonna be?" The announcer's voice spoke. The strange projection shifted into a tiny girl. She had her hair in pig tails, wore a large bomb jacket with shorts and boots. A pistol was attached to her side.
'That's…' Lee Seng vanished from Ritsuka's side. Ritsuka looked around, catching Lee Seng outside.
"Jiro, I'm gonna step out." Ritsuka pointed. Jiro nodded and returned his attention to the girl.
"You go, Yuna. We'll be fine." Jiro told the girl. Yuna lifted her hand high into the air for the projection to see.
"I will go!" Yuna shouted.
"Oh, such a young spirit! It's a shame you're the one who's leaving… Well, a promise is a promise, but… I really hoped to see more bloodshed. WELL, too bad, too sad! The Loser's Game is over and you're going home!" The pig-tailed girl smiled. A large light flew into Yuna. "Think about where you want to go and you'll be there! As for the rest of you, you're outta luck!"
"Yuna," Jiro knelt down. The girl turned to Jiro as he smiled at her. "Do you know where your parents are?"
"A bunker… It was close to my house." Yuna answered. The lights began to fly into Yuna, turning her bright blue.
"Think of your parents and that place, okay? You'll return with your parents." Jiro smiled.
"Bye, mister~" Yuna waved.
"Bye." Jiro smiled. The light faded and the strange projection disappeared, leaving Jiro alone.
Ritsuka stepped outside and found Lee Seng pacing the sidewalk. The sounds of warping made both of them turn and look.
"I guess she's gone," Rituska pointed behind him as he joined Lee Seng. "Why'd you suddenly leave?" Lee Seng shook his head.
"I've seen that girl on the projection before. I'm sure of it." Lee Seng answered.
"Really? When?"
"When I was captured." Lee Seng answered. "I barely managed to get out of that horrible place."
"Then you know where their base is?" Ritsuka asked. Lee Seng's memory was sharp, but everything happened so fast. He was fighting for his life, so he wondered if he would really remember.
"Maybe if I had some time to think…" Lee Seng closed his eyes and tilted his head to the right. Pictures of the D31 building appeared in his head. "It couldn't be that, right…?"
"What?" Ritsuka asked as Jiro stepped out with some water bottles. He moved over and handed RItsuka a water bottle before offering one to Lee Seng with a tap.
"Water?" Jiro asked, confused as to why Lee Seng had closed his eyes. Ritsuka took it and waited for Lee Seng to elaborate. Lee Seng saw flashes of the building. It looked similar to the D31 building.
"Ah, I can't tell. My brain's too scattered." Lee Seng shook his head. Ritsuka lifted a water bottle up to Lee Seng, who took it and uncapped it and took a large gulp of it. Ritsuka followed suit and sighed in relief. He hadn't thought about how dehydrated he was until now.
"Scattered for what?" Jiro asked.
"He's seen that girl that showed up on the projection before." Ritsuka filled his brother in.
"How do you know her? She's one of D31's highest members." Jiro asked.
"What?" Ritsuka asked. Lee Seng and Ritsuka looked at Jiro like he had just said something so profound like the coming of God was here.
"Yeah, I've seen her pop-up here and there before." Jiro nodded. "Her name's Connie. She's Security for the D31 members. She's made sure nobody's infiltrated that building… If that's the case then that means we'll have a hard time getting to that building." The three men looked over to the large building in the distance.
Lee Seng's memories of fleeing popped up. He winced as he recalled them. The memories weren't there before but he could recall them so easily now? His head throbbed as he saw snippets. He knew enough of what was happening to piece things together, but why were they happening now?
'Is it because I saw her face before?' Lee Seng wondered. His body had an immediate reaction to the girl. He knew she was dangerous the moment he laid eyes on Connie. Blood filled his mind. The fleeting pieces of memories in the lab. It flashed back and forth with the escape.
"I almost lost my humanity to the Fox Spirit bind…" Lee Seng whispered.
"What?" Ritsuka asked. Lee Seng shook his head.
"Nothing, I'm talking to myself." Lee Seng brushed it off. It couldn't have been true. He was just misremembering things.
"Should we continue on or do you need a snack?" Jiro asked.
"Let's keep going." Lee Seng started off in the wrong direction.
"Other way." Ritsuka pointed. He watched his friend turn around and walk past them. Jiro exchanged an odd glance with Ritsuka before following.
'There's a certain amount of time I don't remember because Eleven took over. When I was losing it all because of the Fox Spirit bind,… Something clearly happened… Why am I know remember some of these memories?' Lee Seng thought to himself. He let out a frustrated sigh. 'What more do I not remember at the expense of something taking over?'
[That's a bit harsh. You shouldn't say that.]
Lee Seng stopped. 'That's not the usual female voice I'm used to hearing. Why are you a male voice now?'
[That's because I'm not. It's me, other you. You're having a hard time remembering something? I know a way to fix that.]
'How?' Lee Seng asked. Ritsuka and Jiro stopped beside Lee Seng and looked at him. They tried to speak to him, but to no avail.
"Hello?" Ritsuka waved his hand in front of Lee Seng's face.
"Does he do this a lot?" Jiro asked.
"I was hoping we'd be done with the spacing out." Ritsuka sighed HE stood in front of Lee Seng and shook him. His friend still didn't respond to him. "Hey, Lee? What's going on? Hello?!?"
[I can help you secure memories lost to this Eleven. In that time, your body will be rendered useless. Do you wish to proceed?]
A pop-up hung in front of Lee Seng. He let out a sigh and bit his lip.
'Will this help me with the upcoming fight?' Lee Seng asked.
[That's for you to find out. I'm simply giving you time to figure out what memories you lost due to… that unfortunate event. Do you wish to proceed?]
'Yes.'
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