Everyone is searching for a new world
to attain that overflowing dream.
They all jump over the horizon,
regardless of what lies beyond.
We've run,
we've dived into hope,
and forgotten only courage.
And we've been swept away by the crowd
only to lose something dear to us.
I smile with a twisted face,
and it was the best smile I could put on.
The inside of my mask overflowed with tears
so I covered my wet mask with yet another mask.
I continue to walk through the flat battleground,
and I struggle, unable to warp.
The dream waits quietly on a cape far away.
Even if I fumble around clumsily,
I'm sure I'll still be able to make it there.
That's not an earthquake?
Rio, could that be Ayumu and the others coming for us?
I guess there's no turning back now.
It might be better for us to jump down rather than continue on ahead.
Those're mines.
Oh man.
Someone's having a little fun with us.
Narumi's younger brother... I don't know if it's goodwill or pity,
but conspiring with those demons makes him no different from them.
If he too must die, then so be it.
This sucks. They have traps set up everywhere we go.
Looks like everything is going the way they expected.
No luck here. Every other path has been completely demolished or made impassable.
And the power to the elevators has been cut as well.
Geez. It's just like the Hunter that went after Eyes the other day.
They're doing everything in their power to match wits with us.
Perhaps someone is testing you right now.
Just like you tested me before.
All right. So it looks like this entire building is covered with booby traps.
And it appears the only parts of the building with power are the lights,
the phones and the security system.
Security system?
Surveillance cameras.
Remember, the lights came on right before we entered the lobby.
The Hunters must be watching us from somewhere.
Which means there is at least one enemy in the security room,
wherever that may be.
It'll be really hard to make any moves with them watching us.
Maybe we should take care of them first.
Not a good idea. I doubt they'll go down without a fight.
It'd just be a waste of time.
What do you mean 'a waste of time? '
They know exactly where we are at all times.
It's "game over" once they detonate a trap we get too close to.
No, it's not... Not if it's done with wires like we saw earlier.
No service.
If I can't get a signal in here,
then the walkie-talkies you brought are probably unusable too.
You're right. Electronic jamming?
Yep. They've covered all their bases.
But that means they can't use wireless communications either.
Then they're probably monitoring the phones, so let's avoid them too.
Good idea. So what do we do now? If we as much as graze one of those wires,
those claymore mines will explode and turn us into mincemeat.
The space between each wire is only six inches on each side
and about eight inches off the ground.
It would be way too difficult to walk on foot, even on our tiptoes.
Our only option is get across this hallway, but how?
What's he doing?
If you're done chatting, I could use a hand over here.
Sure, of course.
Hold on, Ryoko! We shouldn't have to help him! Let him do it himself!
If you've got any bright ideas of your own, I'm all about hearing them.
If not, then shut up and get to work.
Do you honestly expect me to listen to you with no explanation whatsoever?
Got any experience walking on these?
What are they up to?
I seriously can't believe you're making me do this.
You seemed like the best candidate with all that pent-up energy.
I really shouldn't be doing anything this dangerous.
I suck at physical stuff.
C'mon. You're more than half way there.
You're a bastard.
That was close.
Made it!
Any time!
He may be a child, but he is certainly resourceful.
He is Kiyotaka Narumi's younger brother.
All right. We'll have to hoof it up the emergency stairs from here.
Left or right? Which should we take?
Are you sure? What's the easiest place in a room to set up a booby trap?
Well, a door.
Then why on earth would you choose a door that's closed?
There's a good chance that both staircases have booby traps in them,
and if that's the case,
then the trap you can best anticipate is the easiest to deal with.
Then we take the door.
If they're trying to test us, they're about 10 years behind the curve.
Hang in there, Rio. Ayumu and the others will be here soon to rescue us.
We can't just sit here while they fight to save us.
We have to find a way out of these chairs so we can help them.
Sounds like a good plan to me.
But we have to hurry!
The intruders have entered the north side emergency stairway.
Give them some light.
Bastards! They're leading us on.
How many stories was this building again?
And we have to climb the whole way up? This sucks.
Stop complaining. I know I'm in good enough physical condition to do this,
but I'm worried about you two.
Well, Ryoko, it seems there's no reason to worry just yet.
What the...
I guess we don't have a choice. Looks like they want us on the fifth floor.
How kind of them to leave the door open for us.
Are you sure you want to give up on these stairs? There may be a way up.
How would you suggest we do that when the staircase is totally collapsed?
So you would prefer to just walk head first into another trap.
We've been in a trap since the moment we entered this building.
No harm accepting one more invitation.
Hey, you're the one who said not to rush ahead.
Whatever. You're all the same.
I'm home! Ayumu? Why is it so dark in here?
Could you get me some water, please? I'm really parched. Ayumu?
What are you sleeping or something? Fine, I'll get it myself. Geez.
"Madoka. I've gone to a friend's house."
"There's some stew in the pot if you want to eat. Help yourself."
He lied.
He lied to me again.
Come on, I'm getting sick of all these games.
It looks like we can't force an explosion like we did with the one on the door.
Nope.
See all these containers on either side of us?
I don't know exactly how much explosives are inside of them,
but the entire floor would probably collapse if they went off.
Thing is...
We can't go any further without somehow clearing this
since the stairs are on the other side.
Right, Little Narumi? These guys sure have a lot of time on their hands.
It's about five feet seven inches off the ground. It's not too high.
I could easily jump right over it.
Forget about it. We still have a ways to go before we find the girls.
What good would wasting your strength now do?
That's beside the point. You wouldn't be able to make it through anyways.
The space between the top of the net and the ceiling is too suspicious.
Just take a look for yourself.
Lasers.
Yeah. Try to go over the net and you'll trip the lasers,
which will cause an explosion big enough to kill us all.
That's pretty sneaky.
Does that mean our only option is to disarm the bombs?
We have neither the time, nor the tools.
Then what do you suggest?
Since we can't go over, we'll just have to go under.
It's easier than it looks.
Under?
Tell me. Do you notice anything peculiar about this room?
It's a conference room.
It would have been a pretty sweet one if they ever finished it.
The reason it was never finished is because construction was halted
when the tech industry bubble collapsed.
Yeah, so? What's your point?
My point is that it was planned to be a state-of-the-art intelligent building.
Hey, what's this?
How in the world did you know there was a wiring shaft beneath the floor?
No big deal. All these high-tech buildings are the same on the inside.
Hey, let's get a move on!
Yeah, yeah.
No.
Huh?
I don't think it's necessary to play around with these guys anymore.
What are you talking about?
Ahead of us it's probably no different. These guys are way too predictable.
There's gonna be traps like this on every floor.
They'll be set up in a way that we have to pass through them
in order to climb higher.
Now I don't know how many more traps are left,
but there's no reason for us to have to deal with every single one.
So you want to defeat their plan?
Even if we do clear every trap, there's no guarantee
we'd be able to rescue Hiyono and Rio safely. Am I right?
Yeah, you have a point. You got any specific ideas in mind?
Well, your knife would come in handy, if you brought it.
Huh? My knife?
What are you kids up to now?
Here we are.
Quick. Go to the electrical room and reset the circuit breakers at once.
Yes, sir.
Planning to continue ahead while you're not being watched, eh?
I expected something more from the brother of Kiyotaka Narumi.
The power's been cut. It looks like Ayumu and the others are fighting back!
Now's our chance. Let's hurry while the surveillance monitors are offline.
I didn't realize you were hiding a knife! Good thinking, Rio!
There we go.
The feed from the fifth floor is gone!
And there's no sign of the intruders on any of the other floors.
They think they're being sneaky, but they're still on the fifth floor,
even though we can't see them. What are they trying to do?
Turn the elevators on and go investigate the fifth floor.
I want to find out what they're up to.
But sir, the power is out on that floor and there's no emergency lighting.
It's gonna be pitch black up there.
What if they're planning to ambush us in the dark?
Then wear your night-vision goggles and eliminate them if they are so foolish.
You are combat professionals.
Understood sir.
We're heading to five.
We're unable to locate the targets.
What?
We did a sweep. They're not on this floor.
Impossible! Where else could they have gone?
Go to the top floor! The hostages have escaped!
Handcuff them this time so it doesn't happen again.
Once you take care of them, scour each and every floor
until you find those intruders! Now move!
What could that have been?
Won't work. We're stuck.
Come on!
What was that?
Ow ow ow!
- You okay? - Yes.
Here they are!
They found us!
Stop!
Damn it.
Damn you, Ayumu Narumi.
How?
How were you able to get up to the top floor?
The Hunters were nice enough to give us a free ride on the elevator.
The Hunters?
What happened was...
We cut the power to the lights then climbed on top of the elevator
and then waited for them to come fix the problem.
Then right before the elevator arrived at the top floor,
we stopped it by triggering the anti-shock safety system.
And in that brief moment between floors, we were able to rescue you.
But how could you be sure they would use the elevator and not take the stairs?
They had elaborate traps set up on each of the floors below us.
The quickest way for them to get there was with the elevator.
Wow! You guys are awesome.
You two weren't so bad either. You managed to get free so quickly.
I can't take the credit. It was all Rio.
Well, you know me. Always ready for the unexpected.
Heck you two probably didn't even need our help.
Remind me. Who was it that wanted to bring a few automatic rifles with us?
Geez! Cut me some slack, will ya?
You're as stupid as ever.
Oh no!
Everyone, run!
What's going on?
They've stopped the electronic jamming!
That means they can trigger those bombs any time they want!
A sweet scent washes into my throat
and my feelings continuously overflow...
Don't look at me with that same gaze
that's like you're following a soccer ball.
I've already grown used to my third year at the office,
but did I lose something instead?
Those days long ago when we would talk about anything...
We're finally old enough now
to have those slightly awkward discussions about love.
A single day seems so long, but a whole year ends so quickly.
A whole year seems so short,
but how well will I be able to live the rest of my life?
Time for Hiyono's Useful News Report!
; Da, duh, da, da, Da, duh, da, da! ;
Irises fall, flower petals fall...
The heavens will know, the earth will know,
and someone will know.
A hermit lives a thousand years, a mayfly only a moment.
Are materialistic people crows of a black night,
herons of a moonlit night,
or caged birds that long for the clouds?
Next episode's highlight is a comedy act between Ayumu and Hiyono
in which they pretend to be married!
On the next Spiral: "The Lamenting Angel"
That's all for today's Hiyono's Playhouse!