ᴇɴᴇᴍʏ ⇒ sniper mask

6

The wall was cold against your back.

"What's going on?" Kuon asked from behind you and Sniper Mask. He turned to shush her, then peered his head out the corner.

"I'm Sachio Tanabe," the old man's voice echoed down the hall. You listened carefully as he began to explain his situation to Yuri and Mayuko. Then he said something that caught your attention—something that made you and Kuon look to each other in horror. "I must kill any God Candidates!"

"Get back," Sniper Mask's breath hitched. He still had his hand on your shoulder and was pushing you further away from the corner.

"What is he talking about?" You narrowed your eyes as a feeling of dread washed over you. No, you weren't just going to get back. This situation was far too dangerous for you to just sit and watch your friends get themselves into. Granted, they weren't god candidates like you and Kuon, but that old guy with the spear seemed pretty unpredictable. If for some reason he thought Yuri and Mayuko were god candidates...

"This place isn't safe. We should get out of here." Sniper Mask sent you a glare. Or, at least, that's what you assumed he did under the mask.

"What? No!" The hands at your sides turned to fists. "I finally found my friends! Alive! I can't leave now, they might—"

A splitting noise interrupted you. Like metal slicing metal, something you were worried meant a fight was about to happen. But when you listened again, that tight feeling in your chest began to disappear.

"I'd think twice if you were planning on deceiving us," Mayuko's voice said sternly. You sighed in relief. She could totally handle this—especially with Yuri by her side. You couldn't believe you underestimated them.

"That was a superhuman technique!" The old man shouted. "You're not one of those masks, are you?"

A superhuman technique...? What could Mayuko have done? You needed to get a closer look.

Shoving Sniper Mask aside, you brought your head around the corner. You had already missed what sounded to be an important part of the conversation.

"And what about that black-haired girl?" The old man asked. "Is she able to manipulate masks?"

Your eyes lit up. That's right—some god candidates could control masks. It was an ability you had yet to unlock, but it made you think about what kinds of powers your new friend Kuon held. Maybe she could control masks. All you knew so far was that she could avoid their attacks, just like you.

"I don't want to deceive you..." the old man suddenly dropped to his knees. He began to tell a story about how he and a few other allies were attacked by a god candidate and a little girl in a mask. You weren't sure—you were half paying attention. But he sounded very distraught over it. Apparently, he was following this guy's orders to kill any other god candidates in his path.

So... Yeah, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to intervene.

"Do you have a death wish?" Sniper Mask tore you away from the corner, scoffing down at you with a cigarette dangling still from his mask. You had almost forgotten how tall he was.

"Weren't you the one who wanted to talk to Yuri?" You rolled your eyes and peered out from behind the wall again. "Look—there she is."

Sure enough, Yuri came stepping headfirst out into hall, her cell phone at her ear and her hand on her hip. Her back was facing you, thank god. Who knows what Yuri would have done if she saw you allied with Sniper Mask—the very man that tried to shoot you dead just a few days ago?

She'd be on him with her handgun in an instant. You smiled at the thought. Not at Sniper Mask being shot, but at the fact that Yuri was a pretty reliable friend.