23. Anthill

The fall only lasted a few seconds before soft sand crumbled beneath him. He hurtled into the anthill, digging a hole through the carefully-piled sand. Glimpses of ants rushed past, quick visions of corridors through the hills At last, he thumped to a halt against a firm layer of earth.

Rowan sat up. Now I just need an ant.

Boots hurtled down at him. Panicked, Rowan rolled out of the way and barely dodged as Kaidu landed beside him, bending his knees slightly with the landing.

“Shit, man, what if you landed on me?” he snapped.

Kaidu glanced at him and clicked his tongue. Flicking his ponytail and tossing the stolen bag onto his back, he stalked off.

“Wait, were you trying to land on me? Kaidu, get back here.” Rowan jumped up and ran after him.

White flashed. Kaidu drew his coat on, the long tail flapping in his wake. “We’re in the fire ants’ home territory. We’re going to die if we aren’t careful.”

“Some were carrying leaves. Are you sure they aren’t leafcutter ants?”

“Ants are ants. This is the Tower, do you think it cares about what kind of ants the ants act like? Things get a bit blurry, get used to it.”

“I get it, you know everything because your dad's amazing, blah, blah, blah. Don’t get so uppity about it.”

"Is that how it looks to you?" Shaking his head, Kaidu snorted derisively. He stretched out his legs and sped into the tunnels.

Tall enough to walk through, tunnels stretched in all directions. Ahead, ants scurried across their tunnel, slipping into and out of smaller tunnels. The ants they’d encountered before were large, but the size of a foot, maybe as large as a small dog. Ones as small as those ants hurried around, but the majority started at medium-dog and grew larger, tall as horses, even.

Rowan jogged and caught up with Kaidu. “What, you have a problem with your dad? Who is he, anyways?”

Kaidu glanced at him. “Have you ever heard of Satoru Mizue?”

“The Swordsmaster who climbed to the top of the Tower alongside the current Hero-King, yeah. Who hasn’t?” He blinked, then jumped back. “Wait, no—that’s your dad?”

Kaidu inclined his head.

“Holy shit, dude! I had no idea.”

“I prefer it that way,” Kaidu muttered.

Rowan shook his head. “And you turned out to be a support class? Damn. No wonder. I think I get it.”

“You have no idea,” Kaidu snarled. He spun on his heel and marched deeper into the ant hill.

Chuckling, Rowan hurried after him. Explains a lot. Why he knows so much about the Tower. How he’s a semi-competent fighter, despite being a Hairdresser. Satoru Mizue’s son, damn! That’s no joke. Mizue probably didn’t even notice him nabbing a few thousand to start his shop, the kind of cash he’s got on hand. He shook his head. “Didn’t take your father’s name?”

“He did not marry my mother.”

Rowan’s eyes widened. Stepped on that one. “Sorry.”

Kaidu’s lip twitched. “It’s only convenient. Made it easier to disown me when I turned out to be trash.”

Rowan took a deep breath. This whole time, I've been jealous of Kaidu, but... he hasn't had it any easier than me, has he? Might have even had it worse. At least my parents were supportive of my class. If they disowned me for it... I can't even imagine.

He shook his head. “You aren’t trash, Kaidu. I’m trash. You’re the hottest Hairdresser ever, three question marks?”

Kaidu squinted at him.

Rowan waved him down. “Don’t worry about it. My point is, you’ve already made a name for yourself. That’s incredible on its own.”

“But I’m not a combat class.”

“No.” Rowan glanced at his feet. A second later, he flashed Kaidu a grin. "But anyways, don't worry about being in the anthill! I've got a plan."

Kaidu snapped his head up. “Incoming.”

The smaller ants scurried back. Even the larger ones backed into their holes, leaving the hallway empty. Rowan and Kaidu stood in clear. Kaidu brandished a pair of scissors, one large, one small. Behind him, Rowan yanked out his trusty trowel. He glanced left and right. Come on, get within reach. I just need one ant!

A horse-sized ant trundled down the hall. At the sight of them, it drew to a halt. Flat black eyes regarded them. Antennae twitched, searching in their direction. It hesitated, almost thoughtful. It inched toward them, then paused again.

Kaidu stepped forward. Rowan caught his coat. “Wait, wait. The hormones, remember? We kill it, the whole hive comes after us.”

“So what, we wait for it to kill us?” Kaidu mocked.

Rowan smiled. “What if we smelled good instead?”

Kaidu stared. “What?”

Glancing left and right, Rowan caught sight of a small ant nearby, still wandering along through the hive. He pounced on it. The ant squirmed, struggling to break free. Avoiding its mandibles, Rowan rubbed the ant on his face. He held it out toward Kaidu.

Kaidu pushed him away. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Hold still!” Rowan grabbed the tail of Kaidu’s coat and rubbed the ant on it.

Kaidu snatched his coat away. “Stop it!”

Rowan’s eyes shone. Now, while his hands are occupied! He jumped at Kaidu and rubbed the ant on his face. “Aha, got you!”

Snarling, Kaidu released his jacket and pushed Rowan away. Rowan stumbled back and fell into the wall. Dirt scattered over him. He released the ant. It scampered off into the distance.

“The fuck,” Kaidu snapped, wiping his face with his jacket.

“Ant hormones! I think it was pausing because all those ants crawled over us with the ant lion, and we kind of smelled like ants. Now, we'll really smell like ants,” Rowan explained.

The giant ant drew closer. Its antennae flickered over Kaidu. He stiffened. The scissors twitched.

Rowan shook his head. He held a finger to his lips.

Kaidu glared.

The ant moved on. It reached to Rowan. Dry antennae brushed his face, feeling over the shape of it. As if satisfied, it lowered its head and nudged him on, down the hallway.

“Where’s it taking you?” Kaidu asked.

The ant doubled back and nudged Kaidu on as well, pushing them both down the hall.

“More like, where’s it taking us,” Rowan replied.

Narrowing his eyes, Kaidu jabbed the scissors at Rowan. “If it kills us, I’m blaming you.”

“What will I care? I’ll be dead,” Rowan said.

The ant nudged him again.

“Right, right, I’m going.” He let the ant push him deeper into the tunnels.