115 Office

{RIKU POV}

Landing with a thud, Riku bit his tongue to stop himself from screaming from the pain of simply forcing himself to stand. He was still bleeding from all over his skin, and Shizu was quick to assist him the moment she saw him appear beside her.

"Riku! You're bleeding!"

The former assassin would've rolled his eyes at the response if not for how exhausted he was at the moment. Instead, he simply nodded as he let the fortune teller help him sit back down on the floor. Shuffling through her cards, she pulled out the one card she had that could heal and quickly used it on him.

"[Fate's Edict! The Empress: Inverse Position]"

The visage of [The Empress] card shone above her as she directed her power to wash over him. Like the last time she used it, Riku felt some of his exhaustion fade while the numerous wounds on his body slowly faded. Not all of them, however, but it was enough for him to get back on his feet.

"Thank you, Shizu," he gratefully nodded. "And thank you for finding this place."

"It's the least I can do, Riku," she lightly chuckled. "But we shouldn't let our guard down, yes?"

"Absolutely."

Sharing a knowing nod, the two of them brandished their weapons once more as they looked around. While they were both sure that they've found the so-called office that they were looking for, it wasn't really a guarantee that they were safe just yet. In fact, Riku was pretty sure that the woman that almost killed him would be following them shortly, and he would like to nip things in the bud if he ever got the chance.

"We should set up an ambush," he told Shizu. "That screaming Champion could come here at any moment. We should kill her here and now."

Shizu's eyes darkened with apprehension, but she nodded anyway as she raised her cards. "Right. How are we doing this then?"

Looking around, Riku took in the sights of the environment they were now in. Unlike the stars and galaxies of the planetarium, they were now surrounded by what looked to be utterly mundane office walls and other random knick knacks. There was a water dispenser on the side, and there was even a black leather couch in front of a coffee table complete with a surprisingly modern selection of magazines. There was an unlabeled door in front of them as well which probably led to the office proper.

"We came from above, right?" Riku asked as he turned his head to the ceiling, spotting what looked to be a small hole going straight back up to the planetarium proper.

"That's what happened, yes," Shizu nodded in reply. "The drop isn't that hard though."

"We can wait for the woman to drop in and kill her then," he concluded. "She'll be too stunned at the sudden change of environment to mount a proper response. And make sure to stop her from screaming or making a sound."

"Got it."

With their plan settled, Riku and Shizu set out to work in trying to find a suitable hiding place for either of them in the small space they now found themselves in. Only, with how small and sparse the room was, it didn't look like there was even enough space to hide from anyone that might drop pin after them.

Silently, the two of them exchanged glances; with Shizu giving Riku a worried look while the latter simply raised a brow in contemplation. Quickly, he looked around once more, his eyes landing on the couch and the water dispenser before gesturing at the two items of interest.

Obviously, if there was no cover for them to use, then they would just have to make their own.

Thankfully, Shizu quickly realized what he was saying and quickly moved to the water dispenser. Shoving it a bit to the side, she slid right behind it, giving her some form of cover from anyone that might drop in. Likewise, Riku shoved the leather couch forward before squeezing himself between it and the wall, allowing him to hide with relative safety.

Now hidden, the two Champions bided their time as they waited for the next Champion to drop in. Seconds became minutes, and minutes started piling up as the lack of any sort of sound or stimuli started grating on them. Specifically, on Shizu.

"How long are we supposed to wait?" she loudly whispered to him from the water dispenser. "My legs are killing me here..."

Riku didn't bother with a response as he simply gave her a pointed glare, telling her to shut up and wait for their chance. This wasn't something they could simply take for granted. Taking out Champions now would give them even more breathing room than they would ever have-

"What are you two doing?"

A familiar voice entered the scene, one that both Riku and Shizu never expected to hear while they were waiting for a Champion to drop in unannounced. In fact, how did he even show up without warning?

"Look, I like playing hide and seek as much as the next guy, but maybe we should get a move on here."

Peeking out from his cover, Riku saw Astra's cool and calm visage casually smiling and chuckling at them both. He didn't even look surprised. In fact, he was clearly amused with their presence.

"Uhm... Riku?" Shizu called out from her own hiding spot. "Shouldn't we..."

The former assassin let out a soft scoff as he shook his head. There was no point in hiding now with a literal god in their presence. "Yes, Shizu."

As one, they both emerged from their hiding spots with Shizu looking embarrassed and Riku not even bothering to sheathe his knife. Together, they faced Astra, the God of Space in his own Realm.

"Now that's much better," Astra chuckled as he lazily fished his robes for something. "Let's not waste any more time. I think you two deserve some rewards for finding this place."