Project Nodachi

demon's mind

*Max's POV*

The Quarters, In The Forest of Dreams

How many times can a person knock on your door before it's flat out harassment? Since I was quickly ushered into this intimidatingly huge building titled "The Quarters", Ferris the bald general had been to "check on me" at least a dozen times. He would just walk in and survey the entire room silently, even dodging the numerous insults I hurled at him as he left.

The room was nicer than I had expected, it didn't seem like I was actually a prisoner here, other than the two guards posted sternly outside of my door of course. There was a cozy bed, a bathroom and even a small TV that was fixed on the sports channel sitting atop a wooden stand. A change of clothes was sprawled across the bed as I entered, there was no shower in the bathroom so I was forced to fit grungily into the dark gray jumpsuit. My bright blonde hair was messy and tangled from my exchange with the snake bastard, causing me to unconsciously run my hand through it every five seconds.

On the way here the landscape of the forest continued to surprise me, there were huge oddly colored plants and animals everywhere, I thought about pinching myself to assure I wasn't dreaming.

I made a mental note of the peculiar behavior of the soldiers who were just lounging playfully around the building. They seemed much different from the stern demeanor they showed around their psycho captain, but they straightened up slightly at the sight of Ferris.

I twirled the piece of paper Chandler had given me in my newly freed hands. I had been staring at it for hours, lost in both fear and anticipation of its contents. I was definitely going to open it, but Chandler had completely weirded me out when he found out Danny and I's secret. For all I knew he had squeezed Danny for all the info he had and they were plotting against me, I liked Danny but I knew it would be dangerous to blindly trust him now, this could easily be my death certificate on loose leaf paper.

"Okay, here we go." I sighed.

I mustered up the courage to unfold the note finally and read it silently to myself.

We can both be freed if the two blades cross paths,
The dark one's bloody greed will prove useful for both halves.

-Chandler

A poem? A riddle? I laid back in the small soft bed and rested my head on my arm. I was never good at these types of things, Noda or Kaori probably would have figured it out already.

I knew I felt bad for Chandler though, nobody deserves to be treated that way, no matter what. We can both be freed. Was he being kept prisoner here too?

At that moment, another firm knock at the door interrupted what little thinking I was doing.

"Go away, you bald freak!" I said loudly, anticipating Ferris to be the culprit.

The door opened, and I shielded my eyes jokingly from the shiny head approaching. My eyes widened when a full head of smoke grey hair was revealed to me instead.

"Oh it's you." I said. Chandler walked in weirdly and shut the door behind him, looking around the room, he noticed the unfolded piece of paper lying on the bed. The mood was tense, he seemed a little off. I'd say even more serious than usual.

"You've read my message." He said.

"Message? More like just fancy rhyming words on a page."  I said meeting his glare. "What's your deal?"

"You really are an idiot."

"Why don't you save that animosity for the Captain." I spat.

His eyebrows furled and his glare sharpened at my last remark.