“Not worth it? What do you mean it’s not worth it? It’s your chance to get your crucifix back. Don’t you want that?” Kou still had a look of disbelief on his face. Mari found it hard to blame him considering how much of a train wreck she was not too long ago when she first lost it. She hated disappointing him though.

“Of course I want that. I’m not going to the upper levels to get it though. I’m two away from getting out of here. I’m not ruining it now off of a hunch.”

“Mari, I saw him pick it up. He has it.”

“Kou, I’m no in the mood for your sense of adventure. Just forget it.”

“Just forget it?” Lou grabbed Mari’s wrist. “Mari, I am going to go to the upper floors and get it. Now you can come with me or you can stay here. Either way, I’m going. You saved me. It’s the least I can do.” Kou’s face had a look of determination. Mari always admired that look about him when he set his mind to it. Her thoughts were interrupted as Kou pulled her in for a warm embrace.

“If something happens to me, I just wanted you to know you’re my best friend in his hellhole,” Kou said. He let he go and walked toward the exit.

“Wait,” Mari jumped up and walked toward the door. “I’m going with you.”Kou’s face glowed wih enthusiasm.

“What changed?”

“I can’t leave you all alone. What would I do without you?” Kou gave her a half-smile before motioning down the hall. There were more illuminating torches out this time. Footsteps from people in the other cells were the only thing they could hear.

“You ready, Mari? You look tense.” Mari hasn’t noticed until he said something, but it was true. Her hands were balled into tight fists, and her jaw was hard. Who could blame her though? Going to the upper floors unauthorized was forbidden by the contract. The only time it was ever okay to go to the upper floors is to feed the Masters or the guards and cleaning. Sneaking in definitely wasn’t either of those things.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this.” Kou chuckled.

“I’m pretty persuasive when I want to be.” He pointed at the large group of children heading towards the stairwell. “Looks like that’s our ticket in.”

“We’re just supposed to fall in line and hope we don’t get caught? Some plan.” Kou growled and walked toward the group without a word. Mari wanted to yell at him, but that would just blow her cover. Like it or not, she was stuck going through with the plan now. This was possibly her best bet to get the crucifix back – as much as she would hate to admit it. Kou motioned for him to fall in behind her. Mari glanced back the way they came. Going against every single cell in her body, she pressed forward.

The children all stood in a line. Mari counted about a dozen of them, including Kou and herself. They were engaging in separate conversations with one another. Usually a guard would come and motion for them to come upstairs. Until then, there was a bunch of nervous conversation until the time came for them to come up.

“When I give the signal, make a break to your right. Be subtle. We only got one chance. Just watch my right hand. You’ll know.”

Before Mari could respond, she heard the guard’s armour clanking down the hall. The guard looked irritated, probably thirsty. His eyes did a cursory glance over the dozen children before wordlessly turning on his heels and going toward the stairs. The children followed just as silently in single file.

Mari clutched at her chest. She could hear her breathing getting progressively louder with each stair she climbed. “I’m doing it. I’m really doing it.” She took a couple of deep breaths in a feeble attempt to try and steady herself, but she could tell it wasn’t working. It didn’t help that the staircase was barely illuminated. She could hear the grunts of the children ahead of her that stumbled walking up the stairs. Each stumble left her gripping her kimono tighter than before. Kou tucked his hand behind him and reached for hers. He toyed with her fingers a little before grabbing her hand in his.

“His hand is bigger than mine now. When did that happen?” she mused. “I must be really scared if he’s sticking his hand back here.” Her shaking hand squeezed his as hard as she could. He squeezed back before rubbing his thumb in her palm, almost as saying “it would be alright.” His strong hand was unwavering, much like Kou’s resolve to get her crucifix back was. Mari began to calm down. “If he can have such confidence in something that’s not even his problem, then I can too.” Her heart was still racing, but it had calmed down just enough to feel that it wouldn’t come out of her ribcage.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the top of the staircase. The difference between the upstairs and downstairs was like night and day. The room they were in was a giant, lavishly designed room. Gone were the dank, cold brick walls of the basement level. Replacing them were large paintings of warriors past and beautiful cherry blossoms that showed an air of high class. The room was extremely well lit, with lanterns covering the spaces between the paintings and doors. It always astounded how different the rooms were by comparison. The Masters truly keep all the good stuff to themselves. Hardly a surprise. Still, Mari noticed that they had made upgrades to the paintings since the last time she was here a year or so ago. No doubt they were always looking for a new way to improve the aesthetic looks upstairs.

“You know where to go,” the Master said before disappearing behind one of the many doors there. He was right. The doors were clearly explained before coming upstairs. There are three doors on the right. One door is for the lower level Masters like the guards. That’s where most of the bloodslaves end up going. Once a day, a group of bloodslaves are sent upstairs to make those rounds. Another door is for the higher level Masters. Some of the slaves go there, and they are usually specially requested. The last room is for “esteemed guests” as the Masters like to put it. These guests are allowed to feast on bloodslaves either for free or a discounted price. Often times, these guests are there in search for a new apprentice to take on. Others just like a change of pace. Others still are just so freakishly powerful that they are offered free rooms based on fear. For whatever reason he was here, the foreigner was definitely in one of those rooms.