The Key Keeper

Chapter 7

Kai and Ren stepped out of the elevator, which creaked underneath their feet. The elevator doors banged shut behind them, and a whirring noise came from the elevator as it ascended once again. A warm glow shone over their faces, gently illuminating their skin. Ren stared, bewildered, at the sight in front of her. A massive cavern the size of a small town expanded downwards, rough rocks lining the walls. Laid and stacked on each other, like shelves in a kitchen, huge slabs of rock jutted out from the sides of the cavern with wooden homes and shops built on top of them. Dozens of dark tunnels lined the walls, people filtering in and out of them. Vaguely splintering wooden rope bridges spanned the gaps between each side on the open middle of the cavern, crossing over each other. Runes decorated the stone path beneath Ren's feet, faintly glowing yellow. Ren inhaled, breathing deeply; the cavern smelled earthy, with hints of dust and metal.

Clanging and yelling filled the entire underground; hundreds of people walked around, sold their merchandise, and chatted with others. Ren watched as a group of people wearing animal masks and deep red velvet cloaks hurried past, disappearing into one of the dozens of tunnels in the walls. RIP!  Ren jumped, startled, and peered over to the direction of the sound. Eyes glowing, two teenage boys were throwing up small pumpkins into the air from a small wooden stand outside a shop, surrounded by seeds and plant material. A red-haired boy tossed one lazily upwards, and a smaller boy with purple hair poked it with his finger. The pumpkin hovered in the air for a moment and then shredded into pieces, the seeds scattering and finding rest in the various cracks of the stone path. The red-haired boy's eyes glowed, and he grabbed his smaller friend's arm, pulling both of them into a nearby tunnel. Not even a minute later, a stocky older man, presumably the shop owner, barged out of his store, noticing the pumpkin. He frantically scrutinized the surrounding area for the culprit and then started yelling angrily, his deep voice hoarse. That's right, I forgot they were allowed to use their powers for destruction here. Ren thought. 

 Kai swung his arm out dramatically, gesturing to the bustle of the cavern. "Welcome to Itsuki's Domain! Home to the sweetest little rays of sunshine you'll ever see!" he exclaimed sarcastically, gesturing down at the bottom of the cavern, where two girls were fighting, both of them bleeding heavily and hands glowing. "Stay close to me and don't make eye contact. You never know what these people will get offended by," Kai told Ren, who nodded. Kai led the way to the entrance of the nearest huge shelf, containing at least 25 houses and shops. The stone shelf appeared much bigger up close, stretching at least five football fields along the side of the wall from what Ren could glean. As Kai and Ren strode across the hard stone, Ren felt eyes watching her from the various shady people sitting away from the houses. Feeling anxious, she reached out her hand shakily, hesitated, and then hooked two of her fingers around the leather belt loop of Kai's cargo pants. Immediately, she felt safer for some odd reason. Kai glanced down at her small hand and let a small smile curl around his lips. 

"Turn here," he murmured, steering them into a tunnel and keeping his head down. Suddenly, as the gloom of the tunnel began to cover them, Ren heard a shout from behind them. "HEY! KAI, IS THAT YOU?" Kai peered out into the small town, and his blue eyes widened, panicked. "Shit." He grabbed Ren's hand, practically covering it completely, and yanked her forward, starting to run. "We need to run. Hurry, go, go, GO!" he shouted. Feet pounding against the stones, Ren and Kai dashed through the tunnel, Kai practically dragging her. Louder and louder, Ren heard the footsteps following them echoing. Whoever it was, they were getting closer. Ren scrambled to keep up with Kai, but he was abnormally quick, sprinting along the tunnel, and she could feel her feet beginning to catch and drag along the rough ground. Wait... what happened to the sound of the footsteps? Ren thought, just as an arm wrapped around her waist from behind, pulling her to the ground. Kai skidded to a halt up ahead, noticing she wasn't beside him anymore. 

A pair of skinny but muscular arms wrapped around Ren's shoulders, and she shuddered as the cold, sharp edge of a blade pressed against the soft skin of her throat, slicing a small cut. "Don't move, or I kill the pretty girl." a deep voice ordered from behind Ren. Kai slowly put his hands up. "Hotaru, put down the knife," he said. A mocking chuckle came from the person behind Ren, warm breath on her ear. "If I put down the knife, at 12:00 pm, you have to go to our old place. I've gotten much stronger since you've last seen me," they said. Kai nodded, rolling his eyes. "Dramatic as always. Fine, it'll be over in a heartbeat." he gave in. 

The sharp edge of the knife moved away from Ren's throat, and in a flash, she threw her arm back, her elbow hitting the person behind her square in the nose. He let out an "Oomph!" and released his grip, giving Ren room to scramble out, her feet scraping on the floor. She dashed back to Kai, whipping around once she was a safe distance away. Wiping the dark red blood off his nose, a boy, around the same age as her and Kai, was crouched on the ground. He wore a leather jacket with a white shirt underneath and black jeans, scuffed with dirt. He would've resembled a greaser from the 1950s if not for his fluffy, dark red hair and headphones around his neck. The headphones had a strange appearance, though, seeming to be made of stronger material than regular ones. Ren stared curiously at them. The stranger, whom Kai had called Hotaru before, glanced up at her with hazel eyes, which seemed to have a constant look of boredom in them. 

Slightly shorter than Kai, Hotaru stood, brushing the dirt off his knees. "Who's this?" he asked, gesturing at Ren. "A new friend," Kai answered, seeming reluctant to answer. Hotaru bent forwards towards Ren, Kai watching his every move. "Sorry about earlier; Kai needed a bit of...encouragement." he apologized. He gently lifted Ren's hand and kissed it. Ren flushed in embarrassment. "I have a boyfriend." she hesitantly reprimanded him, thinking of Katashi. Hotaru lifted his hands above his head, grinning. He then checked the metal watch on his wrist, decorated with golden gears, and smiled up at Kai. "You have about two hours, see you there!" he cheerfully told him. Kai grumbled, "Fine," in response. Hotaru stuck his hands in his pockets, spinning around and trudging towards the main part of the town once again.

"I hate that guy," Kai mumbled under his breath. Ren glanced curiously up at him. "Why?" she asked. "I used to live down here, and I was friends with him. It got a bit out of control once we began to grow up, everything was a competition between us to him, and he started using extreme methods to force me to participate in his stupid games." Kai explained, gesturing for Ren to follow him once more. Ren thought for a moment, understanding. Katashi did that too sometimes; it always felt like he wanted to be superior, in turn making Ren feel stupid. Ren quickly picked up the pace, catching up with Kai. "So, what did he want you to participate in this time?" Ren questioned Kai, who was looking back to his usual happy self now that they were a good distance away from Hotaru. Kai sighed, brushing back his hair, which proceeded to drop back into his face again. "Never mind that now, I'll explain to you later; we're almost at our destination," he replied.

Rounding the bend of the tunnel, a narrow cave with a tidy little house came into view. The building was lit with lanterns, and numerous barrels filled with unknown materials surrounded the outside walls. A loud unknown rumbling noise was coming from the back of the house. "This is my friend, Daichi's, house. We'll be safe here; he's a doctor." Kai happily informed Ren. A shadow emerged from the darkness on the side of the house. "Daichi!" Kai waved. A man came out of the shadows. He wore a serious expression and a black cloak lined with silver. His black and dark green hair was slicked back. The man removed his white gloves, stepping into the light. Ren stifled a gasp as the light finally shone on his face, splattered with blood.