A drop of water fell from the roof of the tunnel into a pool that had formed directly below. The sound echoed through the thick beam-supported rocks and dirt in the mine. Tanaka's eyes roamed the cave, searching for the nearest sign of the vault. With the illumistone in hand, Koku skipped in front of Tanaka, leading the way.
"Hey, don't go too far," Tanaka said.
Koku slowed his pace. "Awww, is someone afraid of the dark?" He laughed while using a hand to wipe away a drop of water that had fallen into his thick hair.
"I'm not scared. We just need to stick close, okay?" He said as he looked away to the side.
"Fiiiiine," Koku rolled his eyes. "You big baby," he muttered.
"What was that?"
"What was what? What? Nothing. I said we should stick together, yeah, that's it." His head stood staring straight ahead as he shifted the pupils of his wide eyes, trying to peek at Tanaka.
The cave kept getting darker and darker as they walked further inside. "Oh no."
"What?" Tanaka asked before looking around. They could no longer see further inside as the light in Koku's hands kept getting dimmer and dimmer with each passing moment.
"Damn, I forgot about that." Tanaka placed a palm to his forehead.
"Does it have an off switch I'm accidentally pressing?"
"No, no." Tanaka groaned. "The illumistone loses its brightness more and more when it is not embedded in stone or dirt."
The light started diminishing rapidly until they were standing in the middle of darkness. They both walked ahead, more cautiously than before since both knew their next step could be their last. Tanaka walked with his hands against the wall.
"Hey, I think I feel something," Tanaka yelled while his hands explored the walls. "Feels like a torch."
"Don't touch that!" Koku screamed in a panicking voice. "I once heard my dad say this place is full of traps. If we are not careful, we could trigger one."
"And you're telling me this NOW?"
"Don't be silly. It's not like you asked before," he giggled.
Tanaka grit his teeth as he muttered something inaudible.
"Okay, plan B then," Tanaka said. He extended an arm out and tensed up his muscles. The tattoos on his fingers began to glow, giving some light to the tunnel.
"Ooou, nice trick." Koku stared at Tanaka's hand in awe. "See, I knew you weren't going to be completely useless." He grinned and swished back to the front, causing his raggedy cloak to dance. "And here you were saying you're not a magician."
"Just walk, Koku."
"Yeah, yeah, I'm walking, I'm walking." Koku swung his arms exaggeratedly. Tanaka rolled his eyes and quickened his pace to make sure Koku knew where they were going.
"Hey, Koku, what is it you want from the vault anyway?"
"Oh, I can't say. See, my parents need it in case they lose their jobs so we become rich."
He stopped.
"I overhead them talking about it, and so now here I am," he laughed.
"If you don't want to tell me, then don't. It's better than being lied to to my face." An awkward silence filled the cave.
"Besides, you didn't really answer my question, Koku."
"Look, let's just say," he turned around and looked at Tanaka, "I need something in the vault and end it at that."
"Now let it go. You don't see me pestering you about what you are trying to get, do you?" Koku said.
"I guess not. But what if we are after the same thing?"
A blank expression painted Koku's face as he spun around to answer Tanaka. "Then I'll just have to kill you for it," he giggled.
"Yeah, right," Tanaka scoffed as he tried to force a laugh. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Pffft," Koku burst into laughter. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Oh, the look on your face, hahaha." He wiped away a tear. "Priceless."
"Don't make jokes like that. It's—" Tanaka's eyes widened then receded. He looked to the floor. "It's not funny," he finished in a whisper.
"Hey, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to strike a chord. But listen, as for your question, I really, really, really, really, positively, absolutely…"
"Get to the point," Tanaka growled.
"I don't think we are after the same thing. In fact, I am almost sure of it," he smiled.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you and your Gozo friend are from royalty, so I doubt you are after money."
"What? Wha… no, we're not," Tanaka panicked. "What makes you think that?"
Koku walked to Tanaka's side and raised an eyebrow.
"Save it, okay? Have you forgotten I'm great at getting information? See, I didn't believe that you two were demons like those dimwits at the Veina tavern were saying. So before I followed you, I did my homework and found out who you were… Prince Tanaka," he laughed.
"Okay, so what if we are? What does that have anything to do with what you are after?"
"Well, being royal and all, you probably don't need the riches—or at least what counts as riches in this dump," he said as they jumped up a rock in front of the next cave entrance, going further inside.
"No, you are probably after a legendary weapon," he waved his hands mockingly, "or a document of some sort. And since I'm not after any of those… I'm sure we are after different things."
"Well, you've got us all figured out. What about you, huh?"
"What about me?" Koku asked.
"You are being really vague about what you're after."
"Of course I am, silly. I met you yesterday. I'm not going to tell you all my deep, dark secrets, hehe."
Tanaka's lips curved downwards as he eyed Koku suspiciously.
"All you need to know is I want something inside the royal vault."
"I guess I shouldn't care anyway as long as I get what I… Koku, stop!"
Tanaka tried to place a hand on Koku's chest to stop him from walking any further. Below Koku's foot was a stone brick that was clearly one of the triggers for the traps.
"What?"
"I've got good news and bad news."
"Aaand?"
"Good news is we are probably close to the vault. And the bad news is… uhhh—" Tanaka lit the floor brighter with his patterns.
Koku looked in the direction Tanaka's light was showing. "Oh, fooey. That's not good."
"Maybe if I lift my leg up real fast…" he said and started to lift the heel of his foot before removing it completely.
The tunnel started rumbling instantly, and streams of dust fell from the cave's roof.
I guess this does mean we are close. We can actually do this, Tanaka thought, trying his best to convince himself that their mission was not simply his mind trying to trick a crack of hope into his dim world.
The thunderous sound stopped. Koku, who had his shoulders tensed up and one eye open, moved it side to side, expecting some form of an agent of death.
"Nothing's happening," Tanaka smiled.
"Don't be so sure about that yet." Koku relaxed, but his eyes remained narrowed. He looked around and walked towards one of the walls.
"There's a crack… here," he said while placing his flat palm between the small gap.
The cave roared to life once more. The rock slowly began to part.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?" Tanaka cried.
Koku swiveled to Tanaka with both arms stretched outwards and his fingers curled slightly. "Whatever I did, it was your job to stop me!"
"What!?" Koku stayed in his position, waiting for some response from Tanaka, but the prince just stood there, still. Staring at the wall behind Koku.
With wide eyes, Koku slowly turned to the opening wall. The stone beneath had multiple lined circular holes, each glinting with something shiny inside. Tanaka swayed on instinct. An arrow had embedded itself into the rock behind him. An arrow that came from one of the holes in the wall.
The two realized what the glinting items in all those spaces were. ARROWS. Lots of them.
"Mama," Koku gulped.