Mai remained silent as she followed Harupia around through the maze, all but clinging to him; the proximity was nice, she allowed, and were the situation different, she would have been overjoyed at the pleasantness of the contact -- he was so warm and leaning into him was just so easy...it would seem that the first hug from him had broken down more than one kind of barrier, but that was to be expected of a young girl in the throes of romance. Instead, she was slinking down a dark path, more or less terrified, and unable to physically reciprocate anything he presented to her. Hopefully, he would understand.

Thankfully, as she deferred to his lead in all walks of life, he chose the correct pathway and led her to relative safety -- for now, there was nothing to do, just for them to stand in the slightly lighter, but much stranger, room, and wait for the rest to arrive.

As she waited for the remaining pairs to filter in through the secret door, she responded to the questions her taichou had asked her, relaxed enough now that the apparent threat to her psyche was extinguished with the flickering light on the exit. "If he harmed you," she whispered, sticking close to Harupia's side. "He would have no one to heal him after I was through with him." Normally, the girl wouldn't be so blunt with her emotions, propriety and all that, but she was in a worried state, trapped in the dark with the muffled sounds of screaming from tricks and panic breaking in through the door. She could not paint her words in her special way.

"Besides," she continued, carefully averting her gaze from Harpuia's face back to the panel they had entered from, "He doesn't seem to care about me half as much as her...." While her tone was still polite, there was an edge to it that Harupia would no doubt pick up on; the young Tanaka was terribly melancholy, and focusing on a terrible day the winter prior when the rocky relationship had taken a back road down the scenic drive of the past. "So it wouldn't be much of a problem for him, I don't think." Regardless of the truth, the girl had resorted to a similar mindset she had as a child, the very same dichotomy that had gotten her in trouble throughout her earlier years: if he was not with her, then he was against her.

Throughout her momentary lapse in judgement, Mai had been leaning away from her savior, a sign that she wasn't quite comfortable with the topic their conversation had taken. A shrill scream from the other side of the door -- the poor man who now had a hat of sticks and dirt in the spidery corridor -- had her sucking back to Harupia's side like water through a straw, and her body shuddering. The fear of not knowing what was going on bothered her more than the actual screaming, though maybe since she had been the first to lose herself in the beginning, the novelty of the ride was wearing off.

One by one, the remaining groups arrived, some less hectic than others; those who chanced down the third corridor would have been relieved -- or moderately terrified -- to find not a giant beast lurking in the shadows, but the skeleton of wood gently chiming in time with the wheels. Their wagon had passed the picket of horses outside, maybe, and perhaps one of them had words to say about the screaming silliness from within? Upon their return to the middle, they would be forcibly directed down the middle pathway, either by an arrival from the parties down the first or some unseen hand -- clearly, the correct path was the middle one, at any rate.

As they started filtering through the secret panel, the ringleader sighed from his peep-hole behind a cheesy tapestry; too many moving too slow, he realized as he silently slunk back from the holes in the wood. Time to make things go faster! He made his way to the team pulling the wagon and clambered back into the seat to take the reins; a sharp cluck and twitch later, the pair of horses broke from their steady walk to a sharp trot, jostling those both inside and out.

Back inside, as the last of the groupings staggered in (the pace had quickened, after all), a second panel opened, revealing a narrow, but visible, pathway to the next room. Somewhat reluctantly, the groups continued on, some moving faster than others with the rough ride; as they reached the end of the hall, each group would find itself alone in a dingy cabin, walls smooth and cool to the touch -- those with quick eyes would see the panels silently opening and closing between the pairs (and the odd trio), effectively blocking them off from the rest.

Stumbling into a wall as he began to take Taisho's suggestion and go into the rather cramped second path, Biru put his arm on one of the walls as he regained his balance. Moving forward, Biru saw Harupia and his partner go through a secret panel. Following them, Biru found himself in a room with a straight pathway through to the next one.

"This one seems surprisingly straightforward." Biru remarked to himself as he cautiously scanned the area for some sort of trick. Finding nothing, Biru wondered why there would be a room as simple as this in a maze. "I don't see any surprises in here but you two may want to keep your guards up." Biru said to the rest of his group. Slowly moving forward he would lead them into the third room. Noticing that they were the only ones in this room, Biru confusedly looked around for one of the other groups. "Okay...well at least that explains why the last room was so clear cut." Biru sighed. Noticing some sort of movement from one of the panels on a wall, Biru looked closer at it with a quizzical expression. There was definitely something off about the room...well aside from the obvious.

Now isolated from the others, Malik gazed down at Chio whom was starting to have a nervous breakdown. he quickly scanned the room, trying to piece together exactly what was going on. Sadly, that didn't do much good other than the puzzle master clearly wanted each team off on it's own.

Deciding he had a very easy way to assist in Chio's fear of the dark he lifted up a palm facing upward, away from the two of them and spoke softly. "Hadou no Sanjuusan; Soukatsui." Suddenly a small blue ball of fire would whirl to life just above the surface of his hand, and there it would remain flickering and dancing above his skin. Kido had multiple purposes if you knew what you were doing, and thankfully Malik had a degree of skill in such things. His make shift torch would help shed some light on the darkness of their surroundings.

"It's okay, Chishio. Just concentrate on my breathing." He took a deep breathe himself and exhaled slowly before repeating the process. "Concentrate on it and follow along, just focus. You can do it, everything will be okay."

People started to disappear, becoming swept up in the walls of the maze. Now it was Just her and Malik. Everyone else was gone. Her eyes widened as an idea rose to her mind. Maybe they had come to a terrible conclusion to their lives. Her eyes began to blur as her breath caught in her lungs, making her choke out a gasp. She gave a start when Malik lit the soukatsui, the room they were in bathed in an errie blue tinge.

His words soothed her, just enough so she could do as he instructed. She matched his breathing with her own, albeit shaky. She was embarrassed that she had let her fears get the best of her. Her fingers gripping tighter to the fabric of his uniform, she turned her gaze towards the ground.

Her voice came out in a whisper,"I'm sorry, Soutaicho-sama." Taking a deep breath and holding it for a few seconds, she let it out slowly between her teeth. "I'm okay now. Thank you..."

Sengoku didn't like being herded about like an animal, and the fact that the third tunnel had been nothing more than a crass prank had left him in a more foul mood than before. As he and Ume returned from their corridor, Sengoku found himself grumbling, "When I get out of here, I'm going to wring that little imp's neck for a moment or two when I get out of here..." He was angry that he had taken that bit of 'danger' seriously enough to be ready to kill. It had resulted in him shearing the skeleton in half. As they returned down the corridor, Sengoku let the tension slide out of him. He relaxed, and when the wagon jolted forward, he stumbled and lost his balance. He'd just caught himself and gotten back upright when they were funneled into the next room.

"All right," He growled, hefting his axe in his right hand and looking about. "Where's the exit? I'm going to-" e caught the movement of the panels just a moment too late. "Shit! MALIK! WATSON!" He lunged forward, aiming to get his hand over the panel to hold it down, keep it from splitting he and Ume off from the rest of the group. He couldn't make it in time though, and as the panel hissed shut, he withdrew his hand and presented his axe. He brought axehead down hard in an overhead slash, hoping to bash through the panel, only to have the axe head hiss across wood harmlessly. He dropped the axe and pushed forward, hammering on the panel with his fists. "DAMN IT. I knew I shouldn't have let my guard down!" He grimaced and crouched to scoop up his axe, only now realizing that he couldn't see a damn thing. "Ume? Are you in here with me? I can't see a damn thing." He fumbled for a bit, found the hilt of his axe, and then tucked it back into his belt, standing slowly. "I don't have anything to light."

Young Yumi had dusted herself off and reunited with the rest of the party, holding on to the now terrified Miroku.

"It's OK. I'm sorry about springing the trap. Taichou Harupia, can you take a look of Miroku here? I think he's gone into sho-WAHHHH"

For at that moment, the ghost train had picked up speed, tossing the hapless child to the ground once again. She decided to stay down there, scurrying around on all fours. It may have been ungainly, but having a lower centre of gravity was effective.

However, when she looked up...she was alone. Well, almost alone. The still trembling Miroku was still there.

"Where on earth did everyone go?"

She hadn't noticed the panels moving, as she had been more focused on falling.

Suddenly, a screeching noise, with indecipherable muttering came from somewhere behind her. She darted towards her partner, shaking him, herself as scared as he was.

"Quick! We must move!"

---

Kabelja and Lira were somewhat closer to Ume and Sengoku, so she heard the cry of her name.

"I am here. I suggest progression whilst we still can. Keep alert. Lira Techimaru of the Fifth Division remains with me. Good luck, citizen."

Yoshiya, also, was close to Sengoku and Kabelja. Sadly, through the walls he heard a word he did not want to hear.

"Hey Sengoku, watch your tongue. I've got a young child with me."

And then he heard a voice which was probably what Sengoku did not intend to hear.

"Hey sis! I think Matsumori-san was talking to me there."

And of course, a sound, which filled his heart with some despair.

"Is that you trying to break out Sengoku? What is this thing made of? If your weapon is that ineffective then I doubt any of us would have a chance."

He sighed and turned to his daughter

"What do you think we should do, Kurai?"

---

Unlike young Yumi, and several others, Sikes was fine with the joltings of the carriage, at least in terms of his balance. He had experienced unsteadier scenarios, usually after a night out at the Notched Axe or other similar establishments.

"Hey Biru, Techimaru. Do you hear some sort of grinding noise?"

The landlord started groping against the walls, tapping them, looking for another secret door.

"They sound hollow. Maybe we can bust through them."

Sikes knew how to break down doors. His living depended on it. With a great charge, he threw himself against the wall, being rewarded with little more than a slightly bruised arm.

"Hey, guv'nor. You look like you've got some force behind you. Give us a hand here. Hyyyurk!"

Unlike Sengoku, Ume was relieved that there was nothing in the third corridor. In fact, she sighed in joy, "Hey, that could have been a lot worse..." Ironically, the sudden thrust forward of the wagon made her grab ahold of Sengoku, arms wrapping tightly around his frame. She had to hold on, lest she be hurled and tossed outside of the moving vehicle. She'd groan and exhale sharply, "Perhaps I spoke too soon..." Maybe she dug her digits into his skin like a cat attached to a post above water, avoiding the liquid with all it's might; but she really didn't want to be thrown out and then by herself through these eerie festivities. Though, as things began to slow down, and she could see the groups ahead, Ume relaxed... Until...

Split again from the masses by the ever-shifting panels, Ume disconnected from Sengoku as he raged and drew his axe, now mortified she wouldn't leave the maze and games alive. She scooted furthest away from him, eyes widening and her frame sinking into the wagon as he yelled and thrashed about, letting him cool off on his own. Comedically, she'd appear akin to an anime character a bit freaked out and disturbed. However, he calmed down, gathering his things. She'd reply rather quietly, "Yeah, still here..." She'd outstretch her hands and move forward, feeling around for him in the dark. "Eh, I don't think I have anything either..." Ume frowns and shakes her head, feeling quite useless in this whole ordeal.

Miroku stood still as Yumi stepped on the trap, moss now clinging to the entirety of his body. Blinking twice, Miroku started to demossify himself before being ushered back towards the entrance, Yumi having said earlier that it was a dead end. Back with the rest of the party, Miroku was about to interject about being looked over by a taichou before the group was rushed ahead, becoming extremely disoriented, Miroku had to take a second before getting rid of the last of the moss on his shoulders. "Go, hurry!" Miroku said, getting up as he started following Yumi, starting to see where he had finally ended up after his...webby, mossy ordeal.

As the pair of hollows and Yoshiya were swept into another area, away from the others, Uddo relaxed visibly. He let out a held breath as he readjusted his wings and rose from his perch on Kurai's head, hopping down to her shoulder. He couldn't see much, but for the faint outline of Yoshiya and Kurai. He could tell they were stuck in a new area, but did it have an exit?

"Kurai-sama, can you see anything? This one knows you have those special eyes. That must be why you aren't scared at all of the dark. It's a good thing this one is with you." The bird felt like it was alright to finally speak up without being reprimanded for it, so he rambled on, not caring nor taking mind of the Rukon citizen that was paired with them. "Is there any way out of here, Kurai-sama?"

---

And then the groups were separated. Kurai glanced back at where they just entered with an indifferent gaze, not reacting to the cursing of the Bartender. Though at hearing the words Yoshiya spouted caused a reaction. She rolled her eyes before skewering the illuminated form of the elder Rukon, "I am not a child. I'm a hundred and sixty-six, thank you very much. If anyone is a child it's Uddo." Her input was met with a loud, shocked sqawk, letting her know that Uddo did not approve of her pointing out his age.

Kurai turned back to facing away from the area they exited, examining her surroundings with her thermal-like vision. With the cool walls, it made it difficult to discern whether there was a suitable path the trio could take. Her answer to the bird, in turn, was simple shake of her head. "I don't see much of anything, even the others thermals are hard to pick up. As to whether there is a way out? There always is. Just gotta look for it."

She turned, once again, towards Yoshiya, "We move on and hope we can get out of here. I'm starting to get hungry."

To some, the faint whispering of the panels as they moved around on their little tracks would be lost in the aftermath of their commotion. To others, the noise would be the forerunner of a more terrifying trick of the mind, as the creaking of the wheels picked up speed. To the rest, a path would be laid out before them, exiting them from their mirrored prisons and into another antechamber. Those that did not see the path right away would eventually find it, or be chased out with a series of unnatural, fabricated sounds from the ringmaster from outside -- the family needed their cart back soon, you see, and he couldn't return it back with a group of stupefied individuals within it.

Malik's light amplified a great deal, threatening to blind both him and Chishio as it reflected back and forth and left and right and up and down and back and forth....until the light extinguished altogether with a flick of the ringmaster's wrist -- he wasn't too fond of cheaters, either, though the soutaichou's intentions may have been pure. As the pair rubbed their eyes - or whatever it was they did to relieve them of their temporary blindness, their pathway too would open up and allow them the pleasure of the next antechamber.

As far as rooms went, it was fairly drab, though well-lit by comparison to the rest of the wagon train. Everyone had enough space to stand without touching his neighbor, if he so chose, and the sense of dread from the previous trappings seemed to nonexistent. It was welcomed, to say the least, and when everyone was gathered, or near enough, the sounds started.

First, it was a faint whispering, a nonsensical murmuring of nothing in particular, a buzz in the ear. It grew louder each time someone noticed it, a certain cock of the head, a stiffening of the frame, until they all had noticed it. Some might come to realize the trick for what it was -- a bunch of the gypsies outside the wagons taking their turn and trying their hand at a mysticism, though the majority of the group - those already lost to panic or nerves - would begin to feel the haunting of the wagon. The sudden slams against the walls, echoing from the inside, were certainly not proving the case otherwise.

"That...that noise... that buzz.....can...can it be?"

The dark, the sweet smelling scent, the lateness of the hour, the heat, the enclosed space, the movements of the coach...all were combining together, an assault on her young mind. In the dim light of the cabin, the lines between reality and fiction were blurred.

All she knew was of a buzzing around her, a buzzing like the Hollows who had taken away her movement.

"They have not taken me here? Have they?"

She had subdued her fear, but now it had arisen. The beast which had occupied her nightmares for weeks after the ordeal.

She was sweating in panic, beads of perspiration dripping down her cheeks, splashing softly on the wooden floor.

Her dagger was in her hand, brandished wildly, alert eyes watching every flickering shadow.

---

Kabelja was fine, escorting Lira through the maze. For a member of one of the two "combat divisions" she seemed more pre-occupied with her love life than scouting the way forward, keeping silent and distant from the developments occurring infront of them.

Well, the whole endeavor was going relatively well so far. A few people managed to get startled by the efforts of the wandering troupe, who seemed to be slowly intensifying their efforts with the noises coming from around them, and moving around some sort of props. And there he was huddled up with a lovely girl…who was only a friend for now, but still. However, it seemed his attempt to lighten the mood somewhat was ill aimed. Though he couldn’t help but to feel a bit faltered about her comment… as timid and quite Mai seemed, there was a certain strength in her character…perhaps wanting to see more of it was what drew him towards the younger Tanaka…amongst other things.

Still, it seemed the topic turned sour rather fast as Mai stepped away from him just slightly…only to hop back towards him as a loud shout erupted near them. Out of reflex he found himself wrapping his arms around Mai as well, both startled by the sudden shout and in the back of his mind still focused on making sure she felt safe. It took him a few seconds to quite understand what he was doing, and he then moved his one arm away, relinquishing the hug as he said “Erm, sorry about that… that one got me pretty good as well, hehe. Didn’t mean to smother you like that…” he concluded scratching his head a bit, hoping the darkness would hide his somewhat flushed expression. It’s been way to long since he was entertaining a women, he couldn’t help but to feel ever so slightly awkward.

Before he could suggest moving along, the ringmaster decided to pick up the pace of the wagons. Unfortunately for Harupia in his slightly absent minded moment, the sudden shift in speed was enough to knock him of balance, sending him toppling forward. He’d let go of Mai as he was tumbling, not wanting to pull her along with him (thought there was a chance he would tug on her clothing to some extent) and attempted to pull his balance back in admits the odds. He managed to not fall over to the floor, but only because he landed rather harshly against the wall of the cart. While he didn’t move far away from Mai, on the off chance she would lose sight of him the Taicho would let out a rather audible grunt of pain once his uncontrolled charge stopped.

With his fast forward charge, Harupia could barely notice the walls of the room shifting around him, seemingly blocking of himself and Mai from all the rest. Rubbing his shoulder with his hand, h would say to Mai “Ugh…who would have thought a wagon filled with people could move so fast?” trying to turn the whole ordeal to a joke. But then things started to get a bit more intense…Whispering growing into a louder, persistent tone with each second, slamming against the wall, the still fast pace of the wagon…he couldn’t help but feel somewhat perturbed. Still, he turned towards Mai with a somewhat pain smile (the shoulder still stinging) while saying “They’re trying real hard now…that means were probably pretty close to the end”. Still, as he said that, he couldn’t help but to worry ever so slightly…the noises were doing a pretty good job at creeping him out slowly.

"Not really. I'm not sure the owner would appreciate us breaking the walls though" Biru answered. Distracted by the ruckus that some of the other groups were causing, he was unable to heard the sound of the panels moving, nor was he able to clearly see it in the dark. Wincing a bit when he heard the thud of Sikes charging at the wall, Biru gave a mental sigh. "I'm pretty sure that charging at the wall isn't the best of ideas. There's probably some other way out that we have to find." Biru said to Sikes. Soon Biru's words would come true. Heralded by a change in the the cart's velocity, Biru stumbled forward a few steps.

Reorienting himself, Biru caught sight of a path to the next room. "See? There's the path to the next room." Biru said as he led his group forward. Finding the other groups in the same room, Biru was relieved to see that everyone was okay (and hopefully more calm). Frowning as he thought he heard whispering, Biru looked around for a particular source of the noise. Unsuccessful in his attempt, the whispering soon increased in intensity. Unable to pick out what was actually being said, Biru strained to hear what was actually being said. "Anyone know what it's saying?" Biru asked to no one in particular.

Yoshiya's voice was soft, a whisper. "Regardless, we must maintain a ruse." "Though honestly that statement would be consistent..." He'd never had children, after all. "We may be alone, but we don't know who else can hear us. Same to you, Uddo. Although again, it is a pleasure to meet you."

From then on his voice raised to a normal level. It was doubtful that anyone could hear them, especially with the noise of the carriages. Still, it was wise to err on the side of caution.

"Anyway, if they don't offer us food after, I'll take you home and make something up for you. Unless you want to grab a bite to eat on the way home. Let's go."

Onwards they wandered through the maze, again reaching the others. That is when the voices started. Kurai's attitude to the whole event removed any semblance of fear in him. All he felt was ire. He wanted this to be over.

---

Defeated, Sikes obediently followed Biru onwards to the next chamber, nothing to show for it but a slightly bruised shoulder.

"No idea what they're saying, me old mucker. Sounds like a swarm of bees."

Mai stumbled along after Harupia as the wagon changed its pace. She did not tumble after him, her lower center of gravity keeping her upright even as he made his pass -- in this instance, she would not have minded being used as an anchor so much, as the alternative broke the contact that she clearly needed to feel safe. She gasped sharply as she saw him (or the darker form she assumed him to be) crash into the wall, wincing; she had turned to follow his gentle pull, though she was far too slow to actually make an attempt to grasp at his arm to keep him from falling.

She forced a tight smile out as her taichou attempted a joke, worry-lines etching themselves along her brow. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly. The collision sounded painful enough - wood was terribly unforgiving in these circumstances - and she did not want to cause him any further discomfort, so she started to move to his other side, where perhaps the stretching wouldn't make his shoulder sting so much. Along the way, the whispers started in, and for a few moments, she was able to withstand them, long enough to nod in agreement with his statement; she too wanted to be done, just to go home and bury herself in her bed and chalk this experience up as a bad dream. Even if it did have some good parts to it.

The whispers nagged at her subconscious, even though she couldn't understand the language. She could hear the intention behind them, however, and while they were meant to scare and unsettle, the effect on the trembling Tanaka was more than they could have ever hoped. She groaned quietly, almost lost in the din the whispers were making, and pressed her fists into her ears. She screwed her eyes tightly shut in that childish mindset, hoping that if she did not see them, they could not hurt her. The strongest of them persisted, the same intonation resonating within her mind in a tone not unlike that of her father...or her mother...or even the man inside her head.

To Mai, they spoke of loss, of disinterest. Demeaning to her while in those fragile states all those years, and some months, ago, cutting her deeply and almost irreparably. The tears started in full force then, her will against the thoughts of her mind telling her that she'd never amount to anything worthwhile, that she was a terrible person, that she wasn't wanted anymore. She turned into Harupia, dropping her hands from her ears to cover her face, and sobbed into his chest.

To the rest, or perhaps those with the more paranoid tendencies, the whispers that followed them along the corridor into the final room would have a similar affect, sewing the seeds of depreciation and depression inconsiderately, reinforcing the solitary thought that they were truly and utterly alone, unwanted. Those of a strong will would find themselves less affected, naturally, but still subjected to the irritation of an incessant noise, and thereby, also susceptible to doubts and misgivings about themselves or their futures.

An abrupt stop, as though the wagon had collided into something, jarred the entire group, signalling an end to the adventure. The final door opened, revealing one last trick upon the group, much to the ringmaster's utter delight: as they would exit single-file through the last wagon, completely devoid of all light, a variety of things would happen. First, the individual would have to wade through thick bundles of cloth that tugged and pulled at the legs. Second, a body in the darkness would suddenly throw first a vat of warm, thick molasses upon them and then a second one would empty an entire bag of freshly-ground flour immediately on top of the molasses. Finally, a pair of arms would grab and unceremoniously push them out of the wagon, and thrusting them into a dark (but considerably lighter), empty clearing.

Miroku would watch Yumi as she seemed....stricken. With fear? Miroku didn't like spiders and webs and insects himself, but for her...this buzzing? "Hey, I'm here to help. he would say, before she brandished a dagger and started quickly turning and weaving. "Yumi....stop. Listen. I'm here." he would say, not wanting to get near her while swashing a weapon around.

Annoyance crept into him, a sudden lack of control overwhelmed him. Perhaps this was his greatest fear? His kido was out and they were both covered in a thick blanket of darkness again. This caused him to show a sign of annoyance with a groan. So much for that.. As the next room was revealed to them he heard the whispers, the haunting voices were to him his deceased wife. She was cursing him, asking him why he didn't do more? How he could treat Mai in the way he had, spoiling her and then rejecting her. If anything this unsettled him more than it truly frightened him, more so as he never found his treatment of Mai for anything more than she asked for herself.

She was a terribly hard child to get along with at the best of times.

The delusion of him being another Malik, all but shattered he cursed and scooped the no doubt terrified Chio into his arms, all the while as Chiyoko cursed him for never loving her. "To hell with this ride." He muttered as the wagon came to a sudden, forceful stop and started into the next path in a slow trot.

This was hindered by whatever was pulling at his legs. He panted with effort to keep up his pace only to be suddenly covered in a warm slime. He didn't actually yell then, he didn't like slime. Anyone who said they did was off their rocker. He gagged a little trying to not imagine what it was he was covered in and then was hit with the flour before coming to stop in the clearing.

He blinked and coughed, spitting out a mouthful of flour. "Oh what the f-"

And then she was covered in darkness again. She blinked her eyes several times, rubbing at them. A-am... am I blind now? Did I lose my eyesight? Panic pressed in once again as the light went out. She tried as best as she could to control the flow of her breathing, but to no avail as she felt like she was beginning to suffocate, in turn resulting in her quickening her breath.

And then the voices. They mocked her, telling her she was ill-suited for her position in the Gotei, that she would never be good enough. They sounded like her parents, in their whispering way. Disapproving in her choices. She kept her eyes shut to keep the stinging sensation from her eyes, anger replacing the fear that gripped her heart so tightly. Her hands dug into her hair, gripping the brunette strands tightly as she furiously shook her head. "Shut up. You'll never understand me. SHUT UP!" Hot tears fell from her eyes, falling down her cheeks as the whisperings tormented her. She didn't care about her fears anymore. She just wanted out of this living hell.

Her wish was answered as she was swept into the warm embrace of her captain, hugging her close as he carried her out of the spook house. She let out a small sob as her fingers dug into the fabric of his uniform, her face burying into his chest to hide the tears that fell without her permission.

If anything, she'd be leaving this event with a melancholy demeanor, instead of one filled with fear. Never again. I won't ever come to something like this again..

Her thoughts were then interrupted as a cool, slimy filled sensation, followed by a powdery snow-like fall, fell upon most of her body. Her muscles stiffened as her eyes widened in shock, "What.. the hell.."

The whispering was more like an irritating drone, like white noise that tended to make the hairs on the back of your neck rise. That is what it did to the little girl, her teeth grinding against each other to help distract her from the irritation. Upon coming to the exit, Kurai sunk deep into the layers of cloth, her frame struggling to make her way through it. Stupid body being too small..

"Father. I need help... I can't get through."

---

As Kurai made her struggling attempt to wade through, Uddo finally took off from her shoulder, circling around the two.

Trying his best to ignore the incessant whispering, Biru was curious as to what it was saying. It began to make him think of all of the research that he had performed over the years. What if no one carried on with any of the research he had done over the years? What if instead they threw out his research and all of the work that he had done and stopped trying to understand the world around him? Feeling a lot more melancholic as he continued to listen to the whispering, Biru noticed that he wasn't the only one. Hearing one of the other people shout out and another one cry, Biru began to walk forward a bit faster. "We should try to get through this one quicker." Biru said.

As he exited the wagon, Biru noticed that something was slowing him down and before he knew it he had molasses and flour thrown on him before he was then pushed into the clearing. Stumbling forward, Biru sighed and said, "Is it me or was that last one more spiteful than scary?" He honestly didn't get how throwing food on people was supposed to be scary. It was surprising and mean but it really wasn't scary in his opinion. Hopefully they would at give everyone something to clean it off though.

"Rodger that." Kurai's kindly father raised his staff, releasing it into its third form, a dish forming on one end, the clatter of a long chain sounding on the ground behind them. Upwards he reached, pushing away at the folds, allowing his daughter entry.

The voices did little to Yoshiya. He was already a failure. He took comfort in that.

Yet as they progressed he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Not knowing what it was exactly, he acted instinctively, raising his shield to block the stream of molasses. Some would have fallen at his feet, but most would have been reflected back at the attacker.

---

Sikes was not so fortunate, taking the full brunt of the assault. The warm treacle covered him, ruining his suit.

"The wife is going to kill me for this!"

What had just been a mild irritation at the situation turned into a full blown rage. He'd been cooped up in the dark. Jostled. Had his head done in by some infernal humming.

And he was through.

"Come here!"

An enraged Rukon leapt at the one who had dared spoil his suit. He would teach the indignant creature a lesson he wouldn't soon forget.

Unless said creature lost the capability for higher level brain functions due to blunt force trauma to the cranium. Now that would be unfortunate. Wouldn't it?

Poor Yumi was blind to all external stimuli, relying on primitive instinct. She did not hear the words coming from Miroku. Instead the child darted on down the path on all fours, blindly running through the path. She leapt as the treacle hit her, yet was unable to stop before an onslaught of flour hit her, coating a small frame in white powder.

She dashed back, only to be met with the thick strands of cloth, the Shinigami becoming tangled in them, but eventually scampering off, snarling at the ribbons, one stuck and wrapped about her body, back the way she came. One poor soul, tasked with ejecting the inhabitants from the wagon would find themselves at the wrong end of Yumi's dagger, and she would be hit by a spray of warm claret. Fortunately for the tosser, the wound to their arm was not serious, and would heal in time. Regardless, an enraged Yumi would crash out of the back door, into the clearing.

Those who came into the clearing would see a snarling white beast, lupine in appearance, stalking round the area, a bloody torn ribbon around it.

---

Kabelja stood a few feet away from the lot of cloth.

"Lira-san, would you take the lead here?" she asked, of her unresponsive companion.

At least Mai managed to keep her balance better then he did, not getting knocked around as she walked toward him. She laughed a bit at his comment but it wasn’t hard to see it was slightly forced. Well, it was hard to blame her for not being in the best mood. As she asked him about his shoulder he tried his best to look tough, shrugging a bit as he said “It’s not soo bad…it’ll be a bit sore for sure. But it’s nothing serious, so don’t worry about me” smiling slightly as she moved to his other side. Still, before they started moving forward he couldn’t help but pay more and more attention to the increasing whispers around them. At first they just seemed as an indistinguishable rabble, but as time went on, they grew more and more concrete…
It just seemed as if the room darkened around him just slightly, leaving him all alone…and the voices insisted that’s what awaited him…they talked about how weak he was, how he could barely even swing his sword properly. How a single Hollow could probably easily rip his body apart, and then he would be dead…or worse, he would be crippled, useless to his people, cast away and forgotten…all his friends, companions turning away from his weak crippled form, leaving him alone in the darkness…

Fortunately for the young Captain, Mai once again decided to seek solace with him, crying into his chest. Again he reacted on instinct, wrapping his arms tightly around the girls frame, pulling her close to him. At first it was more for his own comfort, so he could fell her close to him…. As long as she was hear, he knew all these voices, as insist as they were, were wrong. And deep down he hoped they would forever be wrong like that…after a while, he would simply say “Let’s just get out of here…” gently but hastily guiding the young Tanaka forward. He wanted to comfort he, but he knew that the sooner they moved out of this wagon, the sooner these people would stop playing tricks on their minds… a bit of fear could be fun, but this was getting obnoxious really fast.

And the sentiment just kept growing as they moved forward, pushing their feet through some kind of unspecified, thick material. Still, they moved on forward without stopping, feeling the exit had to be close as the wagon stopped…then the warm goo was poured over him and Mai, along with a pack of flour. As he coughed from the sudden attacked, he felt a strong shove as he was sent tumbling down to the outside. He tried his best to move in the fall to lessen the impact for Mai who was treated in the same way… At first this was a fun little trip…then they started to distress the minds of everyone, and if he was to judge but what he felt and how Mai reacted…and now this. He would carefully sit Mai on the ground while rising up himself, wiping his eyes and coughing from the flour, he would shout out “WHOEVER RUN’S THIS ESTAaack…ABLISHMENT BETTER TEACH HIS MEN SOME(cough) RESPECT FOR WOMEN!”. He honestly didn’t care much what they did with him, as long as there was no stabbing involved. But treating women like that just made his blood boil, to the point he was even slightly rooting for the male who was readying his fine rod…still, he had more important matters then teaching people manners. Sitting back down and turning to Mai, adjusting his hair a bit from the sticky goo he’d say “Well…looks like my fancy coat got a bit messed up tonight, haha. Are you feeling better now?”

Mai allowed herself to be ushered forward after Harupia had suggested it, the young Tanaka trying her best to stop the flow of tears from her eyes; it was so terribly easy to lose herself when she got so worked up, even moreso when she was alone in a room with Harupia...though each of those times before she'd been through an emotional wringer or two, and this ride wasn't unlike those precious few moments where a level of contentedness had been reached. And so she allowed herself to be guided by the pressures of his hands on her shoulders, needing him to see for her. Her eyes were too swollen from the sting of her tears, too watery from the despair that had nearly taken her. Takana Mai could not see in the dark.

The thick, stiff tendrils of cloth grabbed at the pair as they waded through, aided by the leavings of the molasses from groups prior; the consistency and temperature reminded Mai of congealing blood, of all things, and she squeaked the first few times her hands came into contact with it, flinching backwards into her savior with each unfortunate contact; when the majority of the vat ended on top of her and Harupia, she shuddered violently against him as the compulsions rippled through her, and the sack of flour that followed shortly thereafter stifled her indignant squealings and panicky shrieks. Whichever foul beast had assailed her surely had the laugh of his life then, as she felt the strong fingers of a working hand almost effortlessly pull her away from Harupia and out toward the unforgiving forest floor.

Her luck changed then, as the grip faltered for a moment (perhaps in pity at her sorry state?), but soon the Tanaka found herself squeaking in surprise as she felt Harupia collide into her from behind. She felt his arms wrap around her frame as they fell, and then the sensation of being pulled in a different direction; when the pair landed, Mai was still disoriented, the impact had jarred her some, but not to the extent that it could have. Harupia helped her to a sitting position, both of them coughing from the flour, and while she fought to clear the powder from her airways, he let the now-retreating wagon know his disapproval of the wanderers' mannerisms.

When Harupia returned, Mai turned away from him and retched, bringing up a gritty globule of saliva, the result of her hacking and coughing. Almost as though she was defeated by the night's events, she drew a drier part of her arm across her mouth to wipe the remainder of the saliva off before turning back to her taichou. In comparison, she felt far worse than he looked; her hair was streaked with the dark color of the molasses, and most of that was freckled with chunks of damp flour. Her face, free from the molasses, was caked in the white powder that had glued to the dampness on her cheeks, giving her a look not unlike that of a dead woman. Small, cleared tracks ran from the outside corners of her eyes down to her chin, which also was clear from her recent bodily purge.

In the cool night air, her shikahushou was cooling rapidly, the molasses drying and hardening into the woven threads of the cloth. Flour had worked its way into the natural folds her posture had created, given the black a streaked look that echoed the disaster on top of her head. "I...I just want to go home," she said quietly, avoiding eye contact with Harupia in her embarrassment. She was exhausted and traumatized, and while he was trying to lighten the mood with some humor, the poor girl couldn't bring herself to even offer the barest hints of a smile to let him know that it was appreciated. "Thank you for...putting up with me."

Off in the distance, the flames from the bonfire flickered dully, letting the small groupings of participants know their location from where they had started. The majority of them would be able to find their way home without interruption, assuming they hadn't incurred serious injury from their abrupt discharge from the wagon -- those that had incurred any other injury, such as the lone ranger who tried to falter from the path, would need assistance walking. His plan had backfired from the start: he slipped on a spot of wet flour, and instead of colliding into the person responsible for damaging his attire, he merely found a friendship with the still-warm pot used to dump the molasses on top of the unsuspecting individuals. Those that had taken their time through the carts found themselves in a spot of panic as they picked up speed, and as soon as the realization of the potential to get lost crossed their minds, they sound found themselves racing through the last bits and out the exit, further from the group then they probably should have been -- they would be so unlucky as to be dirtied from the aftermath and not within sight of a towel or two that had been laid out. They would have to find their own way home this dark night.

The rest would have enough light to be able to see the towels laid out on a small bench, provided that their eyes were still working well enough to see it. There would be no tricks on these, and their existence was more than acceptable as a treat to those who needed them most. Beside the towels on a small table were tiny trinket bags, one for each participant who made it through, and labeled accordingly, as a symbol of thanks.

Note: Post your exits now; those who haven't posted in 48 hours will be exited automatically.

Frowning at himself and then at Chio he gave his head a shake, bit of flower would no doubt fly off like a fine dust from his already white locks of hair. "Well this could've gone better." He mused aloud setting her upon the ground before leading her toward the laid out towels, one which he handed to her another he used to gives his face a good rubbing and then went to the same process with his hair. Attempting to clean his clothes with such a method would be utterly futile.

"But at least you can say this about me." He shot her a wink as he started to lead her back toward the city. "I sure know how to make a first date memorable." He laughed aloud, sparking another kido in his hand to use as a lantern as he left this affair.

[EXIT]

Once she was set down, Chishio took out the violet ribbon that kept her locks in a ponytail, combing her fingers through the newly white coat and molasses covering her hair. She gritted her teeth each time she passed through a globule clinging to her locks, trying her best to get most of the mess out of her hair. "Lovely..." Now I'm going to have to take a bath before going to bed. It feels so gross. As Malik held out a towel to the woman, her flour encrusted eyelashes would flicker up, a small smile appearing on her lips.

"Thank you Soutaicho." She then took the towel from him, wiping at her face, revealing the purple triangles that were hidden beneath the powder of white. Once she got most of the powder off, she shook out her clothes, grumbling about how her newly acquired attire was now ruined forever. Not bothering to capture her hair back into the side ponytail, she bashfully wrapped an arm back around his. She was utterly exhausted to even fear the dark.

She glanced up at the man, a small blush dusting her cheeks as she leaned into him. Despite the entire fear factor, Chishio was glad to have Malik in her company. Happy that he could put up with her and her absurd feelings of terror. Just as a smile rose to her lips, she tilted her head in response to his words, curious as to what she could say about him.

Right when he lit the kido, her face would noticeably blush a deep crimson, she stumbling over her words, "I-I didn't realize this was a date!" 

[Exit]

It was very rude to be kicked out of an area and there he was, booted from this wagon thing onto his lovely face as his butt was pointed straight at the moon. Yes this was a fitting sight for the fifth division taicho. With a grunt the large man picked him self up and dusted him self off slightly. He needed to get his ego back..so tomorrow he would tan like a manly man on his division roof top and let the world see his fine body. Looking around he wondered how everyone was, but then a fact popped into his brain...he forgot to finish some of his paper work. His eyes slightly widened. Quickly he grabbed this little bag thing and ran off into the night back towards the great city. he just hoped he was going the right way.

---

Lira was kicked out in a rude way her self there she was brought down onto her bum. But her night in shiny armor was not there to catch her little body. There she sat on the ground wondering where Azoth-sama was. Then she heard the soutaicho talking to the cousin of Azoth about a date...A DATE!!!! WHERE WAS AZOTH-SAMA!...Her eyes began to water slightly as her pride was brought down. She needed her shiny knight, she began to slightly cry. This all began to change as she slowly rose from her feet watching to cousin walk away. Her eyes filled with rage grabbing the goody bag from the table (It was more like ripping it from the poor little table) She began to walk after the little girl in a very slow dark manner. It was all most like there was a dark humming aura around her as she followed her. Her voice lowered down in a dark manner.

"Loveeeeee....Thief"

Of course she didn't say good bye to her fellow red head partner nor check up on anyone else..Nor even her older brother all she cared about was Azoth..and this woman who was stealing all the love in the area.



[EXIT!]

Uddo continued to watch those in his company struggle through the obstacle, circling up over head as he furiously flapped his wings to stay aloft. Even though Yoshiya was using his staff-shield to push the pile of mysterious cloth, Kurai was still having a hard time traversing though. Once finally through, being covered in yuck and rudely pushed out of the carriage, Kurai rubbed at her eyes, coughing and trying to get the powdery substance out from her nose. Uddo left unscathed, minus some of the fine powder speckled on the black pattern of his feathers.

"This was a stupid idea, Uddo. Why did you force me into going?" The woodpecker would let out a squawk, perching upon a branch before retorting, "This one didn't force you into this! More like you forced this one." Kurai's eyes illuminated dangerously as she glared up at the bird, looking even more frightening with her ebony colored locks a faded grey. Uddo gave a noticeable shudder at her appearance. "You should clean out your hair, Kurai-sama. You look like a ghost."

Her lips fell into a deeper grimace, stubby pale fingers reaching up to comb through her hair, "Sh-shut up, Uddo. Just wait until you're like me."

Turning her back to the bird, Kurai's eyes searched for the red-headed Rukon, "Father. I'm going home now to wash my hair. Let's go, Uddo." And with that, the little girl and bird made their way back to the third district, not waiting for the old man to catch up to them.

[Exit]

CRACK!

And then silence. And then.....

"AUGGGGHHHHHHHH!"

Ebenezer had fallen pretty hard, and he was sure something had broken. Albeit on inspection it turned out to be little more than a floorboard. Even so, his trip home had him nursing a sore bottom.

"I'll get my revenge someday. For ruining my suit. For doing that to us. I'll show them, the rotten so-and-sos. I'll...oh flip."

For whilst he had a trinket, he hadn't obtained a story.


[EXIT]

---

It was curious. Kurai was becoming increasingly more...distant. He had only realised it now.

He would have to be alert. Had this destiny faded? He knew that the strands of fate were tightly would with his daughter, but he did not know which way they were pulling. If she was becoming more Hollow....

Yoshiya picked up his trinket, stuffing it into his cloak, and followed suit.

[EXIT]