Mist of Doom

28. Reunion

Fashion was never Mika's forte, a reason why her classmates often poked fun at her during her schooldays. Wong had offered her a few fancy clothes, including a red qipao, but she had chosen a gray t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Although plain, they wouldn't hamper her mobility.

After drying herself and putting on those simple clothes along with her belt holster, Mika looked at the big mirror in the bathroom. Most schoolgirls preferred long hair over ear-length bob, but Mika didn't care; she worked part-time for the unofficial slum patrol group after all. Brandon had always told her that short hair was better for combat.

Walking towards the bathroom's door and opening it, Mika grinned at the thought. Despite telling her that, Brandon had a wild black mane that went past his shoulders a bit. Well, he had a reason to not care about it; yanking his hair wouldn't cause him any pain.

Outside the bathroom was a windowless hallway illuminated by yellowish wall and ceiling lamps. Cold wind blew out of the air conditioners on the ceiling, making her shiver a bit. Mika should've asked for a jacket from Wong, but that'd be so greedy of her, wouldn't it?

Katrina stood beside the bathroom's door, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Warmth and scent of jasmine emanated from her clean brown fur.

Mika raised an eyebrow. Rabbits shouldn't take a bath, should they? Even if someone dried their fur with a hairdryer, the heat would hurt them.

"What's the matter?" Katrina asked.

"You took a bath, too?"

"Why not?"

"Isn't wet fur troublesome for rabbits?"

"Do I look like an ordinary rabbit to you?"

Mika shook her head. Okay, the words "not an ordinary rabbit" were enough to answer everything.

"Anyway, we should head out." Katrina turned and walked away. "Mr. Wong is waiting for us at the castle's yard."

Mika nodded and followed the rabbit woman along the desolate hallway. Mahogany doors rested left and right on the wall; each of them had a metal plank specifying what lay behind the doors. The signs featured both Chinese and English languages at once.

The further they went, the warmer the air grew. A slow melody from plucked strings echoed amid the sounds of footsteps and chatters in the distance. Soon, Mika and Katrina arrived in a large hall, where well-built men in suits roamed.

The main hall of Jiugang Castle had not changed much, as far as Mika could recall. While the granite floor and the four pairs of round red pillars remained, the stone tablet had changed. The object still rested against the wall, exactly four pillars away from the castle's entrance, but the yin-yang carving now had a white fenghuang on the dark side and a black eastern dragon on the bright side.

Mika strode towards the exit with Katrina leading the way; unlike the rabbit woman, Mika would still look at the men who sat at the corner to play their Chinese zithers - the guzheng. With Wong's earlier bamboo fan performance in the garden, the gang certainly lived up to its title: Gatou the Artistic.

When Mika stepped out of the castle, war cries smothered the oriental tune. To their right men in changsan stood in lines, raising their wooden swords overhead and bringing them down when their instructor - an old man standing across them - commanded them to.

In an era where various firearms and explosives were viable, human swordsmen seemed useless, especially against monstrosities of the mist such as orgmen. However, Wong and his men steadfastly refused to use modern weapons, and it actually worked. When Wong first guided Mika into the castle, he had explained to her that his men wielded the zhanmadao, a sword with a very long and broad blade capable of slicing through a horse's legs. With enough skill, these swordsmen from Gatou could cut down orgmen before they could do a thing, and Wong had proved it by sending his men to Metaslica to test their might against David's orgmen.