Looking out the window, Seth hadn’t noticed that they had driven into the parking lot entrance of a very large, modern-styled granite building. It was around as tall as a high-budget hospital, five to six stories at least, and as wide as a college campus.

Possibly even more than that, Seth had thought. 

It had a very government-feeling style to its architecture with a minority of windows, and flat surfaces surrounding it with little character to them… it wasn’t exactly a glorified rectangle, but it wasn’t far from that either. A large, rectangular stone landmark with engraved letters on it that read:

GARDEN SPECIALIZED ANTI-THREAT OFFICES
LOWER LAYER DIVISION

“That’s a mouthful…” Seth quipped, though not realizing he said it aloud.

“‘GSATO, yeah... not a single person calls it that,” Yasu explains, scoffing. “It’s just a puffy cover to make it look like we’re in bed with the Gatekeepers.”

“Thankfully…” Kat retorts, sounding annoyed just by the thought of having to say that full title every time she wanted to talk about the organization.

Gatekeepers, huh? I remember them, back when I tried to be a conventional detective… I got rejected, failed all their tests, and they told me to find a new career.

A smarter version of me might’ve taken their advice.

The sedan pulls into a lot closer to the middle of the building as Yasu parks the car, opening his door and being met by a heavy downpour.

“Mm.”

Seth stares over in disbelief.

That’s all? What? A lifeless ‘Mm.’? What kind of human reacts like that? Is he… trying to be like this? I can’t tell.

Kat reaches over to untie the seat belt wrapped around his neck as she gives him an approving nod.

“Yep. That’s Yasu. Just don’t think about it.”

“What was that, feline?” Yasu looks over his shoulder back at her while asking.

“Hm? Oh, nothing. Stop letting rain in the car.”

“Mm,” he says, turning away and walking past the car while shutting his door.

He did it again… Seth and Kat simultaneously think to themselves, staring at him as he walks past the left back door window.

After Kat untied Seth from the collection of seat belts she strung him up with, he walked between the two of them as Yasu led, beginning to approach the entrance. It’s simple but architecturally sound, with only two swinging doors near the front under an extended overhang that covers two feeder lanes. The lanes themselves were brick-layed instead of the typical asphalt. Past the two doors, Yasu led both of them into an entryway, which looked like any other government office building. The reception was there, though no one was around to greet them. The walls were painted with a very pale grey, and it was barely furnished. There was a hallway leading immediately to the left, with a staircase visible further past it, which Yasu began to walk toward.

“Seems… empty,” Seth stated, looking all around the building for any employees.

“You’ll see, just wait,” Kat replied, catching him off guard as he had forgotten she was behind him.

Her footsteps are… really quiet.

Yasu leads them down the staircase, which leads into a small storage room. It’s a little larger than a maintenance closet, with various cleaning and hospital supplies lined across shelves, either in boxes and packed nicely or out of them. Seth watches as Yasu walks toward a corner, tilting his head back to stare at a camera near the top right corner as he mouths a set of letters out.

Soon after, the entire room— even the walls— begins slowly moving downward, revealing itself as an elevator. As the three of them reach the vertical equivalent of two floors down, one of the shelves near the far right corner shifts upward in the space above that it had originally left, revealing a hallway with a golden brown wooden floor. It was surrounded by doors with golden yellow hanging lamps parallel and attached to the side of every other doorway. It had an older, more welcoming aesthetic than the rest of the building. The floorboards creaked when they were stepped on, and the sound of the humming lights created an odd tranquility.

This is nothing like the rest of the Garden… Wow.

He followed Yasu as he began to cross through the hallway, which split into two other hallways in both directions near the end, this time also influenced by his own curiosity. It’s as if he entered another world, unbeknownst to anyone but these people. For a moment, he forgot that there was a high possibility they’d try to kill him.

As Yasu led them through the sets of hallways, each containing their own offices and workspaces that Seth didn’t look through due to an innate sense of caution, they finally reached the lobby. Many employees were wearing standard black suits with white undershirts, with the only difference being the color of their ties, some of them having black horizontal stripes near the knots… reds, yellows, blacks… the former two repeated the most. There were even a few employees who wore white and red, seemingly either nurses or general medical workers. The lobby itself was well-lit by fluorescent golden lights on the ceiling, with small overhead lights hanging below them as well. Chairs were spread out across it, with many sitting in them as they talked amongst themselves. This place was undeniably well-lived in. Yasu, ignoring the wonder on Seth’s face that he couldn’t manage to suppress, continued down another hallway further in until the lobby was far behind them, before he reached a large dual-sided door, unlike the others, and knocked on it with a rhythmic pace.

Knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.

“Come in.” A man’s voice, lighter than Seth’s, answered with a lack of attention, as if he was preoccupied with something and gave it little mind.

Yasu opened the door and stepped inside, pointing over his shoulder behind him and to the right at Seth.

“Hey, asshole,” Yasu began to say, though he didn’t show much emotion behind it.

Woah, okay. Seth takes a step back, originally planning to head in behind him.

“Mind telling me why you didn’t let us know that the Numet-class you wanted us to catch was Yggdrasil, of all the damned gods you could’ve picked? Do you have a death wish?”

Kat pulls Seth’s left shoulder back a little as she motions with her thumb to stay outside of the doorway, not to be seen. They both sit there, visibly uncomfortable, like two siblings waiting patiently for their parents to stop fighting.

Liam chuckles in response to Yasu’s claim.

“If I thought you were going to die, I wouldn’t have sent you, Yasu.”

“That so? Well I’d like a warning next time. You should treat your tools a little nicer.”

“Always so cynical… did you try that coffee blend I recommended?”

Seth and Kat exchange a look at each other, wondering how in the hell those two went from an intense exchange to talking about coffee in only a few moments.

“No. I hate coffee,” Yasu spits the retort out as he shakes his head in annoyance. “Feline. Kid. Get in here.”

Seth and Kat walk into the doorway as Kat awkwardly waves with a just as awkward smile. Seth’s eyes were met with a large office with a tall, full row of bookshelves stretching against every corner of the room. In the middle of them sat a man in an office chair with pale white hair— styled and combed off to one side— and bright yellow eyes had his hands clasped together with his chin resting on top of them, his elbows pressed against a wide desk with two lounge chairs sitting in front of them. He wore a white suit with gold trimmings and a blue undershirt, as a white tie blended in between it all. He smiled calmly, yet Seth couldn’t help but shake the feeling that his appearance reminded him of a snake.

“Oh... there he is. I’d like to extend a warm welcome for you, Seth…” he began to say, opening his eyes wide in anticipation of the new arrival while tilting his head to the side to get a better look at him.

“...To Those Who Resist.”