Chapter 50: Digging up the Past
Running a hand back through his short hair Toji let out a sigh. Ever since he clipped it back too far it just didn't feel right.
At least it wasn't holding too much water.
Stepping from the river Toji cracked his neck from side to side as he stretched out his muscles, the ache of the previous few months of hunting was starting to get to him.
Grabbing his shirt from where he had thrown it to the side before jumping in the water he shook it out before pulling it over his head, not even drying himself down before he slipped his feet into his sandals.
As he finished pulling the shirt over his head he sighed and said, "You just going to stand there and watch? I can hear her heart going wild over there." Glaring up at the new arrivals.
Smiling Atlas finally spoke up, having emerged just as Toji stepped out of the river.
"Don't worry about her, she's a fourth-year and knows about Kenjaku, could also be one of his experiments." Atlas started to say, seeing Toji's eyes grow cold he waved his hand and said. "Don't worry, she didn't do anything and was thrown away just like I was. She knew nothing about Kenjaku until we met a giant snake." Atlas says failing to elaborate.
"So what are you doing here?" He looked towards the girl who was glancing at him but as soon as he looked over at her she was suddenly very interested in her shoes or the floor.
"Came here on business not pleasure sadly," Atlas said, ignoring the pointed look he got from his friend for the wording he used. "I'm starting to do some digging into what Kenjaku was up to, going back to the asylum and digging up old threads," Atlas revealed, sighing as he said so.
"I wanted to ask for your help. You might find some connections that he used to have that could help with all of this." Atlas asked.
Thinking for a moment Toji stared out at the river as he ran through it in his head. Suddenly saying out of nowhere. "You know you might find out a lot about Frank's past in doing this…" A simple statement that carried a lot of weight.
Nodding his head Atlas responded, "I know, it is likely that he was involved with Frank before all of this, or at least had a few interactions with him. After all, they talked like they knew each other according to what you saw." Atlas said, remembering how Frank had left willingly with Joben to talk to him the night he found Toji's dead family.
The night everything had changed.
"Frank also seems to know something about Hoshi… before I entered his body, something about his past. It all seems to be linked by something. Something that I plan to find." Atlas revealed, knowing that everything was part of a greater whole. A web that was more connected than he thought it was.
"Alright, I'll come with you then," Toji said as he nodded his head after all his leads had come up as dead ends again. It might help him find out more about the people Kenjaku used to order around before everything went to shit.
"Awesome. Well, we are starting with the asylum that I first woke up in to see if we can find any clues about what might be going on there." Atlas said, starting to walk away from the river, Toji soon following behind him.
"Sounds like a good start. So is she really coming along…" Toji asked as he looked over at Mizuki who had made some distance so the two could talk.
"Yeah, she might be useful with her involvement in being an old experiment. Who knows what she might remember while we do this if anything brings back memories for her. At this point any small lead that we can get I will happily take." Atlas said.
Getting to her he motioned at Toji and said, "Mizuki this is Toji, Toji this is Mizuki. Introductions are done, now, let's go all get depressed together." Atlas said, walking away as he watched Mizuki hold her hand out for a handshake only for Toji to follow him ignoring it.
Furrowing her eyebrows she looked at their backs as they walked away into a waiting portal. Jogging to not get left behind but still very upset at being ignored and dismissed like that.
Walking out from the portal she said, "That wasn't cool, Don't just brush me off like that." Her face still furrowed in annoyance. Whatever she was about to say next though was forgotten as she took sight of the location that they had walked out into.
It was a bunch of ruined buildings that were brought down on each other, old office blocks and warehouses left in charred ruin.
Looking at the wire fence taller than most people that was put up around the area she jumped over it to get to the outer side and read whatever note had been zip-tied to it. As she read her eyes widened a bit, looking at the two guys who already started to carelessly poke around. About to warn them but just stopped as she realized that even if anything happened they wouldn't even be hurt.
Sighing she jumped back over and said more as providing information than a warning now. "This place apparently has unstable ground and could possibly contain armed explosives."
"They just want to keep people out of the area probably for whatever reason. This place was burnt down and destroyed by Kenjaku when he came looking for me or something like that, or when he realized that I wasn't going to work as he wanted. He decided to erase all signs that this place existed and made up a reason people couldn't enter." Atlas said, dismissing her concern.
Nodding his head Toji theorized, "he just destroyed this place though, the government just doesn't have a reason to clear this space out yet and put something new up. It's too costly and/or far away from the city to bother about."
Shrugging Atlas said, "In the end the only reason that matters is why Kenjaku was here and what his involvement with that building was." Atlas said as he pointed down the road and through a toppled building that had a path cleared through the centre of it.
The metal frames that had once held giant glass walls. The lobby of what looked to be any other office building he once thought was an asylum. It clearly wasn't from the outside.
Walking towards it Atlas stood in the spot he had first seen Kenjaku, his face blank as he didn't know what emotions he should be feeling right now. So he chose not to feel any, just staying focused. He needed to be ready.
Looking into the lobby he saw the emergency door he had come out of when he was first here. Caution tape and warning signs all over it. The door itself seems barred and barricaded.
They probably lost some people to curses and decided to just lock it off entirely… after all, there were still a few down here when he left. Back when he wasn't able to handle them as he could now.
"This is where it all started…" Atlas said, his voice blank. His emotions were unreadable.
Standing there for a bit too long Toji just let out a sigh and started walking forward and into the lobby as he looked around and said, "I don't really expect to find anything useful here. After all this entire place would have been torched if I were Kenjaku so if anything is left down there it won't lead back to him. He is thorough." Toji spat, clearly annoyed by how good Kenjaku was at hiding traces.
"I know," Atlas said, having thought the same thing. "But this also was the place I came from and the only place that I have that we can start so for now we don't have other options. Who knows, he might have wanted me to come back and left me a present. It was my birthday after all. At least it might be a trail." Atlas admitted as he walked forward and towards the door.
Putting his hand on it his eyes widened a bit, there wasn't just caution tape on here, on the other side there were seals and Talisman to keep this door sealed shut tight.
"Something is here at least…" Atlas said, only a barrier and seal this strong could be done by either Kenjaku or Tengen. This was not a normal locking seal either.
If this alerted Kenjaku all the better, he knew that he wouldn't show up though, Atlas would like if he did after all.
"Be on alert, there are seals and Talisman on this door. I don't know if there will be more inside so don't just open doors carelessly once we are in there." Atlas said. There was no way to know how many traps had been set up around here. It could just all be a giant hoax though made to get him to run in circles.
You never knew with Kenjaku…
Putting his hand against the door Atlas stopped just as his fingers made contact, about to shatter the door before he stopped and turned to Toji and Mizuki saying. "Let's stay in another plane, just a flawless reflection of this one for now. If you see anything remember where it was and once we see everything of interest we will grab it all as fast as we can. The less time we spend inside the less chance we have of triggering a trap."
Nodding along both seemed to agree with him as Toji muttered to himself, "I hate this feeling." As his body slowly was swallowed by broken mirror-like space.
The same thing happened to Mizuki and Atlas as they both disappeared seeing each other as ghostly visages. Atlas now being the only one that could properly interact with the real plane.
Seeing the two of them adjusting to the feeling he repeated. "Don't interact with anything for now, just keep an eye out for anything of interest if there is anything at all. I'm going to sweep this building and make sure that he hasn't put any seals down in this lobby." Adding his current plan.
He got a nod from Toji who just walked through the door, suppressing the shiver up his spine as he did so… he didn't know how he wasn't falling through the floor but could go through anything he wanted and it always was concerning for him.
The lack of feedback that he normally got was also… jarring. It was like the world went silent and still. But he knew that it was necessary. He could sweep through this place without interference to his hearing and smell if Atlas didn't find anything dangerous. He still had his sight though so that was more than enough normally.
Mizuki followed Toji down calling out, "Wait up!" As he just marched ahead. Atlas turned around and looked at the ruined lobby. The remnants of fire damage and crumbled stone littered this place with an odd feeling, a feeling that something just wasn't quite right…
Walking to the edge of the building he ran his hand along some of the dust brushing it away. Revealing the shattered stone beneath… nothing out of the ordinary.
Thinking as he looked up he tilted his head to the side. If he wanted to catch someone with a detection seal or something like that he wouldn't put it in the room they were planning on entering. No, because that was when they started being cautious. He had to think like Kenjaku…
Put it before they would even suspect it.
Somewhere that was too normal, too human. Walking out of the building and down the road he got to the fence again, it would be quite the large seal but Kenjaku would certainly have the knowledge to do something like this. Looking over the fence he didn't see anything, nothing on top, nothing on the sides.
A few more signs and warnings were taped or zip-tied up but apart from that… nothing.
Kicking the fence over he listened to it crash to the ground as he looked at the bottom of the fence that was normally hidden and barely visible.
There they were. Countless little symbols were painted with grey ink on the bottom of the steel. The entire fence line had been made into some sort of seal circle, they had teleported right inside whatever Kenjaku had set up whether that be detection or trap or something else.
He would at least know that they were here.
---
Looking in the mirror Kenjaku sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, the long strands covering most of his face and hiding his forehead completely in a fringe that almost covered his eyes. Sighing he stepped and examined his naked body.
Most of the damage that came with being dead and kept on ice were dealt with. He was still weak enough that it was hard to move though. He hated using old bodies but right now he didn't have a choice, After a few weeks it would be back to normal however. It didn't take that long with positive energy to heal old muscles and gain new ones.
Looking at his figure he used his hand to move the hair that was just long enough to reach below his shoulder blades and have a better look at it. His new hair was raven-black and his eyes a deep blue. Running a hand down his body he felt the soft skin.
Looking down he sighed at his lack of a certain part… he had a preference for male bodies and didn't like taking female ones unless he had to. But people only knew he had possessed male ones as far as he was aware so people would have a slower time connecting females to him.
After all, he was known as a man and so people would be conditioned to think that way. This was the best way to hide.
The last female body he had taken because of the vessel he was making.
Now he was taking one to hide. Only if he had to he would. And right now it was the safest bet to stay hidden.
Walking over to the closet he started to put on clothes. Things that he had already made sure to have prepared in case an emergency where he had to use this body came up.
The cursed technique he had in this body was also useful. Not nearly as good as Jobens but it would at least keep him safe for now.
If a more interesting body that he could get to showed up then he would take it.
Feeling something ring inside his head he turned to look in the direction it came from… it looked like Atlas had started digging.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone