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[X] Stay awake.

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An unfamiliar room. Four gray walls and a heavy steel door. Two torches flicker gently as they light up the place. The shadows dance at the side of his eye. Vincent jerks back in reflex.

"..."

The jangle of his shackles echo loudly. There is no other answer. In this place, he is alone.

"Haa..."

Sighing heavily, he leans back and stares at the ceiling. It too is painted a dull gray, as if to remind him harshly that this is not a place for guests. Komachi herself had said so, though only in passing.

...

"This place?" she said. "Ah, I think that this was used as a holding facility for humans and youkai that had wandered to the Sanzu River. In the past, the rules were fairly strict. Intruders where either thrown out or disposed of, depending on the case. The old shinigami prepared places like these to interrogate their prisoners."

"Thrown out... or disposed of?"

"That's what I heard anyway," she said. "There was this funny story that a colleague told me some time ago. Apparently, the prisoner that she caught was noisy and annoying, so she left him in one of these cells to calm down. But then, the spirits waiting to cross over started rioting, so she had to leave him here. Soon, she forgot about the prisoner completely."

"... what happened?"

"Well, by the time she remembered," she said cheerfully. "The prisoner was nothing but a pile of rotting meat. The stench was absolutely awful, and when the Yamas learned of it, she was demoted to cleaning duty for several decades! Ahahahaha! Don't you think that was hilarious?"

"Err..."

...

Vincent opens his eyes. This is no time to rest. He has to get out of here.

"Click!"

He turns toward the door. Only then does he become aware of a presence standing behind it. He did not hear any footsteps. Nor did he hear Komachi's voice. But, chained to the walls like this, there isn't much he can do apart from staying still and waiting. So he waits.

"..."

The heavy steel door opens silently. A familiar silhouette walks into view. It seems to be holding something it its arms.

"Found you~"

Before he can react, the newcomer throws something at his feet. Even without a glance, he knows what it is. How this person obtained this item, he can only guess.

Lying in front of him is his longsword. The cold steel glints menacingly in the torchlight.

[ ] Take it.
[ ] Leave it.