DISOBEDIENT ⇢ F. PORTOR

4 ⇢ SEARCH

You awake to an almost pitch-black room if it weren't for the single oil lamp glowing steadily in the corner.

I must have fallen asleep. Your brush your hair away from your eyes and lift your head up towards door. Feitan is still sitting at the desk, head resting in hand, watching you attentively.

"Even Phantom Troupe members need to sleep, don't they?" you ask Feitan softly as you rest your head back on the futon.

"No," he mutters. "Even if we did, you're lying in my bed right now."

Huh, his bed is pretty comfy.

"How sweet of you, thanks for the sacrifice," you mumble, closing your eyes and drifting back into a deep sleep.

"Hey."

"Hmm," you groan, still half asleep.

"Get up," Feitan demands as he prods you gently with the tip of his boot. Even though he's holding you captive, you couldn't help but notice how soft his voice was at times. You open your eyes to see him looking down on you yet again. You look down at your feet and notice that rope that once bound your ankles together was gone. The lack of windows in the room was proving to be pretty disorienting; you can never tell what time it is. You sit up and lean back on your hands as Feitan starts to exit the room.

"Go around the corner down the hall and get ready," he states as he disappears in the other direction.

I guess we're going somewhere today. You get off the futon and peek your head out of the doorway and look to your left and right. You know that the hallway to the left leads to the big cavern room you were in yesterday. You walk to the right of the hallway and turn the first corner where you see a broken mirror hanging on the wall and a water spigot below. Facing the mirror, you see yourself for the first time in 24 hours. Luckily, you were always naturally pretty so you still maintained a youthful glow despite all the stress of working as a crime hunter for the past 5 years. You only took the hunter exam 6 years ago when you were 15, but it seems like ages ago at this moment.

Alright, enough reminiscing. You do your best to wash your face with the cold water from the spigot and rinse your mouth a few times since you didn't have access to the luxury of a toothbrush. You comb your hands through your hair to smooth it out and make your way back towards Feitan's room, only stopping for a second to peel off your jacket and throw it onto the desk, leaving you with just a form-fitting, black, long-sleeve top. You walk towards the sound of low chattering coming from the cavern and see Feitan leaning against the wall at the end of the hall with his back facing you. You stop walking once you reach his side and steal a sideways glance at him for just a second.

"Ready," you tell him. You both walk out of the shadowy hallway and into the cavern where a few shattered windows reveal it's daytime. Half of the Phantom Troupe is missing and the other half that are in the cavern are arguing about something. The track-suit guy turns towards you and Feitan.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Y/N."

"Truly a pleasure," you jest.

"Stay here," Feitan mutters before making his way towards his fellow members. You wait patiently as you watch the troupe discuss plans, catching the eye of various troupe members stealing glances at you every so often. They're probably trying to figure out how they're going to use me for their antics you think to yourself. The Phantom Troupe is just as intimidating, cold, and menacing as you've heard, but you notice that everyone seems a bit on edge today.

"Alright," you hear Feitan murmur as he walks away from the group. "Let's go." He grabs your arm as he walks past you, yanking you to walk at his side away from the main cavern. You jerk your arm out of his grasp but continue walking.

"What's happening?"

Feitan sighs, prompting you to roll your eyes in exasperation. You could tell he didn't want to reveal too much about their work in Yorknew, but he had to in order to utilize your crime-solving expertise. The two of you exit the cavern through a hidden hole in the wall where you're finally hit in the face with fresh air and sunlight.

You smile instinctively at the feeling of the warm sun rays soaking into your skin, contrasted with the cool breeze gently blowing through your hair.  Just walking outside can really bring a gleam back into your eyes when you've been kidnapped, tied up, and thrown into a dusty cavern for a whole day. You snap back to reality and immediately switch back to an impassive expression when you notice Feitan staring at you. He quickly averts his eyes and continues striding forward.

"You know by now that the Ten Dons sent someone to steal the merchandise," Feitan starts as you walk beside him. "We got the merchandise back. But, someone kidnapped one of us."

"What?" you ask in disbelief. Another person sent by the Dons? you wonder.

"We've been calling him the chain-user since we haven't seen his face. Only the chains he used to capture Uvogin." You notice that Feitan has an accent after hearing him talk more, but you keep that discovery to yourself.

"I still don't fully understand why I'm here." You stop walking and turn to face him.

"While you're here, you might as well help us figure out what happened to Uvogin," Feitan says meeting your eyes. You're silent for a moment while you stare back at his dark gaze. Of course, helping the Phantom Troupe goes against all of your morals, but at the end of the day, you're still outpowered. Besides that, something about Feitan piques your curiosity. He seems serious and methodical of course, but...you felt like there was something more. Your investigative personality is getting the better of you right about now.

"And if I say no?"

"I'll force you," he answers without missing a beat. You look back and see the abandoned warehouse getting smaller and smaller as you walk further into the rundown surroundings.

"You know..." you start hesitantly. "The Chief of Police and other people in the police force should be looking for me by now. They knew I was assigned to the case."

"I killed them."

Figures.