Chapter 17, Preparations.

Tokyo, WATANABE’s Penthouse.

After a long, tiring day of torture... discussions with Reika’s agent, Takashi’s mother, to which were added Reika’s own parents at the end, the young couple was finally released from their custody… parental watch.

 

Funnily, his dad never came, a detail Reika’s father understood without being told why, he did seems a little jealous, no idea why.

 

 

The penthouse had, not surprisingly, been deserted by the only two other roommates who hided in the training rooms. Kaze doing his usual exercises. Sei, venting in the VR room.

 

Kaze did try to talk to her at the start, telling her she had to come clean with her feelings. But the young woman refused, on the principle that Reika was perfect for young-master Takashi.

 

As Sei never used the honorific name for Takashi previously, Kaze could see she was hurt, but wouldn’t bulge on her decision. Maters of the heart, were always the most complicated.

 

 

Their training was interrupted by the entire group arrival.

Takashi wanted to show the tardy the new additional room he created. It was still VR, but instead of individual combat environment, that one was for engines and other toys.

 

Present here were simulators for the gantz bike, the gantz flying bike, and in the back, others the group couldn’t recognize for now. Takashi pointed to Kishimoto and Kurono first, enjoining them to test the normal bike.

 

As the two put on the VR helmet and got in the bike cockpit, a wall-screen in the back lighted up, showing what the drivers saw as it was split in two parts.

 

 

The first thing the spectators noticed was the users names.

 

Horndog and Bunnygirl.

 

“Takashi” said Kato.

 

“Hm?”

 

“Nothing to add?”

 

“Erh… They were going at it hard together during the Osaka mission?” answered Takashi faux-innocently.

 

The blank looks on the team’s faces were priceless.

 

Soon the team could see on the screen that Kurono was driving at high speed on the ground, bumping on cars, pedestrians and obstacles. He was trying to drive on walls, moving trucks etc.

 

Kishimoto was still familiarizing herself with the controls, driving at a snail crawl speed.

 

Walking next to the control station, Takashi took a mic.

 

“I will let you have today as a free run, but collateral damages will be counted in the future.”

 

“Buzz-kill!” Answered a pouting Kurono, while the rest of the group laughed.

 

Sei, not in the mood for a laugh, put herself in a flying-bike simulator, going through the tutorials. Takashi missed the look on her face, as he focused on correcting Kurono and Kishimoto driving styles, but another person was quick to notice.

 

“Please all take a simulator, either bike, or flying-bike. You can still fight on the ground if you prefer but I want everyone to as least know how to pilot in case of necessity. Individual training should now include the belt I designed. Gantz’ planning will sent us back in tomorrow night, don’t laze up”

 

While Takashi made his announcement, that person decided to talk to the young woman. A discussion not planned by Takashi. But who would change his life forever.

 

 

Chapter XXXXXX, From North Korea With Love A.K.A When the author use a filler.

DPRK, Kaechon detention’s center

 

From the moment the two young Japaneses found themselves on the ground after their transfer, their lives could only be synonym of pain.

 

Oka and Kuwabara were found outside the camp’s premises. Thought to be escapees, the first action from the guards was to beat them senseless.

 

The two awoke later, dowsed in water by the guards, before being thrown in a holding cell. Cell was a big word. Too big word, to describe what was keeping them.

 

Sitting with their legs against their chest, back bent, head between their knees as the ceiling was only two feet high. Ground, walls and ceiling were in metal, which froze them by night and burnt them by day. They tried as much as possible not to touch them.

 

The guards let them rot here for three days straight. Without water, food or any other basic necessity.

 

When they finally were allowed to crawl out of their cells, the two had to be held by a pair of reluctant guards each to remain standing. The shoots and screams in Korean didn’t help, as the couldn't answer anything.

They were then sent back to the tiny cells for two weeks. Each night, they would be made to lay face down on the ground to eat some gruel in dog-bowl like metal plates. Their only meal for the day.

When this torture ended, each of them were lighter by twenty pounds.

Thrown in the local prisoners populations, they quickly found the small group of people who could speak Japanese. Not that it helped them much. It was then that the curse really began.

 

Kuwabara being who he is, tried his luck on a woman. Not knowing she was one of the local mogul’s property.

 

Emasculated, he bled out until his death, were the guards tried to bury him. The secret went out when his corps disappeared only for him to be found living next to where it was.

 

Some gore experiments later, it was found out that the two young Japanese couldn't die.

 

Their dead bodies or living organs couldn’t be sampled as they would disappear too.

 

No mater the manner of death, strangulation, shot, cremated, poisoned, poured on with acid, drowned, dismembered, decapitated, eviscerated and others, they would be found alive and well a few seconds after their last death.

 

Following was a long series of tests, either drugs testing, medical procedure, surgical innovations, live targets practice for explosives-guns-gaz-fire-etc, even being devoured by attack dogs or other selected animals.

 

The poor captives only learned of their fate after a paper was found next to them. This paper was strange, as it was written in Japanese :

 

PROMETEUS’ CURSE

YOU REALLY ARE GODS NOW

 

As a former teacher for Kazuo Kuwabara and as an educated bank employee for Oka Hachirou, they knew who this old Greek God was.

Gantz Game-Master’s anger knew no end.