Solo Cultivation in The Apocalypse

So they decided on using the forest to get to the back of the house, so Tengoku is not suspicious if he has already arrived. But that was the plan, they were letting him arrive, then attacking him instead of defending.

The one who makes the first move will conquer the attacking side. Too much defending– and everyone had agreed on that. They moved as slowly as they could through the forest.

Akira was leading them. Eya was with Kakashi in case something happens to him and he needs someone to heal him. Reon was walking by Hitori's side as they followed Akira's lead.

"We will take a stop by the lair," Akira said, "to check on Kyo-san. And you will know anyway when Tengoku attacks."

They agreed. So after walking for another minute, Akira took a slight left turn, setting them on the path to the lair. Then it was a long path from there. Five minutes of speed walking and they reached the lair.

Hitori saw no lamps or torches burning at the cafe's entrance. When he got close, he noticed even the inside of the lair was dark. He turned around to find everyone coming behind him.

"No one is here, where is he? Where is everyone? what  is Kyo-san doing?"

"He is downstairs."

Downstairs. Yes, the downstairs. Hitori remembered it very well. That place nobody allowed him to go. That place where everyone went but when it was time for Hitori to go, they just did not allow him.

Now was the change, he thought to himself, now was the chance to go downstairs and take a look at the thing they are hiding from him.

" Let us go then. We need to tell him, right?" he said.

Although he saw nothing to stop him now, he feared they might stop him, pull him, or create another excuse for not going downstairs. So he wanted to hurry, like a kid whose parents might find out his lie if they keep talking anymore. He wanted to run downstairs.

"Wait," Akira said.

And Hitori stopped, then clenched his fist. He knew it was going to happen. He curled his lip and bit it under his teeth. He knew it. They would not let him pass.

"It is too dark downstairs, and you probably do not want to go downstairs," Akira said.

"Y-Yes, Hitori-san. I will call Kyo-san, he will come upstairs, we do not need to go down."

Hitori turned with a smile on his face– a fake smile– and said, "But I want to go downstairs. I want to see what he is doing."

He glanced over his shoulder to look at their expressions. And yes, they did look like they were hiding the truth. They were exchanging glances and gulped.

Hitori raised his finger and lit a fire. "But I want to see what he is doing. Darkness? This will solve the problem."

The fear left him. He knew no one could stop him unless Kakashi does. It was freedom. He took a step when suddenly Eya stopped him.

"Hitori-san! Wait a minute. You really do not want to see what he is—"

"I told you, Eya--nee, I want to see what he is doing," Hitori replied and took another step down the dark staircase.

They would not tell me, he thought. They would not tell me what is down there, so I need to find myself. But if you would not even let me find it, what am I to them, and what are they to me?

He grabbed the wall, it was cold even in summer, icy cold. He had hoped Reon had come with him, but she was not interested in finding out what is down there, and being left out was not her concern either.

It should not have been Hitori's concern either, but they are his family– why would they hide anything from him? No, more importantly, what would they hide from him?

To find out, he took another step when Eya shouted, "Do not go down there! Kyo-san is preparing Draco!"

He stopped in the doorway. He turned and looked at her hesitantly. "Draco?"

"Yes, Draco the Green Dragon. If he senses someone unknown, he will poison you with his poisonous gas. You are not supposed to go near him."

"You need to stay away from him at any cost that is why Kyo left early because he does not want us near the Dragon."

"Yeah? If he is hiding the dragon downstairs then why had you all gone there in the morning?"

As he had expected, they were silent for a moment. But that moment's pause was enough for Hitori to figure out they were lying. He turned to continue climbing down.

"Because he knows us," Akira said "Draco knows us and he was sleeping. He had been sleeping since the day we arrived."

"Waking a dragon is the most dangerous job. They are aggressive, you see. So if a stranger gets close to them while they are waking– everyone will be burned to crisps."

Hitori took a step back. Facing the staircase, he stepped back. Then turned to them. "If I do not see that dragon when we need him, I will force my way into the staircase." He walked past them, ready to leave the lair.

"What the hell is going on here?" Reon groaned. "We should be behind the house by now. How far are we from here?" she said to change the mood and the topic, but she failed miserably. It was never her piece of cake to lift a room's mood. She could not even lift her mood after seeing her dead brother.

Hitori did not stop till he was at the cave's mouth, then he said, "I know you are hiding something, and do not want me to know what it is."

"That is not—"

"That is the truth. I know that, Eya-nee. And it is okay… if it is something you do not want me to know, then it might be for my own good."

They were baffled by his reply. They exchanged glances, then everyone went out of the lair.

"We should hurry now," Hitori said, he was waiting for them at the entrance. "It is getting too late now."

"It sure is," Kakashi said, "and the Haunter is not sending me any—" His words stopped in his throat and he had a terrible choking fit.

He grabbed his forearm and grunted in pain for a moment. Everyone gathered around by that time, then he removed his hand from his forearm to reveal the image on it.

Hitori squinted at the image before it got clear and he saw the empty front yard.

"I-It is empty. Not a single person? I told you. The haunter set us up!"