"Where… where is this? My head is killing me."
In the darkness, Akira pressed a hand to her temple and slowly sat up from the cold floor.
In her memory, they had gotten out of the vehicle after following Nutcracker.
Then, as soon as they entered the mansion, her breathing grew heavier, her eyelids heavier still.
After that, everything became blurry.
"Looks like they drugged us."
As her mind gradually cleared, Akira looked around.
Pitch black. So dark she couldn't even see her own fingers. Nothing was visible at all.
Feeling the cold hardness of steel beneath her, she guessed they were inside a shipping container.
Chances were high they would be sent straight to the auction house from here.
With the drug's effects wearing off, Akira forced herself to stand.
Her mind was fully awake now, but her limbs were still numb.
Once she steadied herself, she began searching for the others.
They had arrived together in the same car, so logically they should've been locked in the same place.
She could sense her teammates nearby.
Swaying slightly, Akira stepped forward—and after a few steps, she suddenly stepped on something soft.
"Ow… you stepped on my bear…"
A delicate, girlish voice whined softly through the darkness.
"Kurona?"
A brief spark of relief flashed through Akira's eyes.
That gentle, timid voice—there was no mistaking it. It was Amano Kurona.
"Kurona, it's me. Are you okay?"
Akira crouched down and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, whispering:
"Don't make any noise. We can't let the people outside notice us."
Kurona nodded obediently, her small figure trembling slightly.
"What about your sister?"
Akira glanced around again and asked quietly.
"No idea…"
Kurona shook her head, blinking her clear eyes.
Click—
Just then, a crisp metallic sound echoed through the container.
A sliver of light filtered in through the cracks.
Still faint—but enough to make out basic outlines.
"Nashiro, wake up. Come on, wake up!"
Akira moved toward the black-haired girl and shook her shoulder.
"Akira…?"
Feeling herself being shaken, Nashiro slowly opened her eyes, dazed and unfocused.
"They drugged us earlier. We're inside a container now."
"I'm guessing they'll ship us to the auction soon. Once we arrive, we move exactly according to plan."
Akira pulled the two sisters close and whispered the instructions calmly.
She had predicted this would happen before they even left for the mission, so she wasn't panicking—just quietly focused.
"Got it…"
Kurona and Nashiro nodded simultaneously, seriousness flickering in their eyes.
"Good. Now we just wait."
Akira let out a slow breath and leaned her back against the steel wall, allowing herself a moment of relief.
Thankfully, her teammates were all here. None had been separated. That alone was a small blessing.
But something still felt off.
Like she was forgetting something—something important.
Akira frowned, thinking hard.
After a long moment, the realization finally hit her.
Wait—where's Suzuya?
She had subconsciously forgotten about him in all the chaos.
Snapping fully alert, Akira scanned the container again, her gaze sweeping across every corner.
And then she saw him.
Pressed up against the farthest corner, in a patch of darkness untouched by the light, Suzuya was still fast asleep.
No wonder she hadn't noticed — his position was perfectly hidden. Unless someone looked closely, he was practically invisible.
Walking closer, Akira finally saw his sleeping posture—and froze.
His feet were up, his head dangling down, his whole body upside down like he was glued to the wall from the waist down.
Suzuya's pretty, doll-like face wore a blissful expression as he slept soundly, even drooling a little.
Akira fell silent.
It was almost impossible to imagine anyone sleeping so peacefully in such a ridiculous, physically impossible position.
But then again… this was Suzuya.
"Wake up! Suzuya, wake up!"
Akira grabbed his shoulder and yanked him off the wall.
Feeling movement, he slowly fluttered his eyes open.
"Is it lunchtime? Akira?"
Suzuya rubbed his eyes, still half-dreaming.
"No. We're trapped inside a shipping container, about to be transported to an auction."
Akira explained, exasperated.
"I see…"
Suzuya nodded, his crimson-brown eyes gleaming faintly.
"Then—"
He didn't finish.
Because the entire container suddenly lurched violently.
Outside in the warehouse, a forklift was moving the container into position.
"Easy! Easy! Be gentle with my precious darlings!"
Nutcracker—dressed in seductive, lingerie-like attire, dripping with playful menace—kept calling out to the workers.
Every container here held her valuables—her money.
If any of them got damaged and sold for less, she would lose profits. That was unacceptable.
One by one, the containers were lifted and moved.
"There. Now we just wait for the buyers to take them off my hands."
"Oh, I can't wait to see my lovely stacks of cash…"
Nutcracker ran her hand affectionately across the container holding Akira and the Yasuhisa sisters, a faint blush coloring her gorgeous features.
"Today is definitely my lucky day. These little cuties are all my good-luck charms."
"I can feel it—they're going to bring me fortune."