Kairo's face grimaced, his forehead greasing above his closed eyes. He couldn't ignore the hard surface he was laying on anymore; especially the only sharp stone in a ten-mile radius under his butt.

He convinced his neck to move from right to left and return without a crack. He wiggled his fingers before he bent his legs. His eyes squinted before he gulped, moisturizing his throat dry.

'When I get my hands on that truck driver...' He pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes that refused to open. '... he will be sorry I memorized his plate number.' With both of his hands, he massaged his eyes until he opened them. He stared at the rock ceiling.

"Okay," he mouthed. "I don't remember any highways running through caves."

His eyes wandered around. The stone's colors moved from green and blue to deep red with white stripes racing across the ceiling. Embedded crystals of various shapes and sizes illuminated the area in blueish light. The ceiling resembled a night sky sprinkled with stars.

He groaned, forcing his torso to get up. His body, most notably his back, protested against this action. The young bounty hunter yawned. With a few moves, he ensured his body didn't suffer any injury.

As he stretched, he noticed stalactite and stalagmites covered by grayish to bland moss with fireflies flying above them. Kairo twisted his waist back and forth, and bent over a few times, touching the ground with his hair. All the time, his eyes scanned the area, searching for any sight of danger.

"All good," he commented on his physical state. He checked his pockets and sleeves but didn't find anything. He glanced behind his back, but his trusted umbrella wagasa was gone. His red eyes narrowed, and he massaged his wrists. 'Where is this place?' He glanced around, but his main weapon was nowhere to be found.

'The truck jokes aside. How did I get here?' He caught his chin, trying to remember. 'We have gotten chased as usual without getting any reward. Arubi let me have it once we reached the edge of the desert.' He clicked his tongue. 'And I own ninety-nine gold coins.' He placed his left hand on his waist and scratched in his hair with the other. 'At this rate, I'll get over nine thousand.'

A pang in his neck made him jerk in surprise. "Ouch!" he hissed, massaging the spot. "What was next?" He bit his lip and knocked on his head. "Think. Think." As his fist almost entered beat mode, he snapped his fingers. "Bandits! Those never fail."

He looked around, grinning like this cave made more sense thanks to them. "Nope." His face turned sour. "You don't get magically moved from a cactus forest into a cave." He scratched his chin. "Oh well"—he shrugged—"it has to have an exit somewhere."

The confidence left him once he counted more than ten pathways in front of him. He checked over his shoulder, finding more holes. "When every path is as good as another... Here goes nothing." He picked the path directly in front of him.

His nose sucked the air, but there was no familiar smell or any scent at all. He licked his finger multiple times, but he couldn't pick up any draft although the air didn't taste stale. He frowned, unable to find any way how to navigate in this complex.

He examined the stone wall next to a bigger cluster of crystals. The smooth surface surprised him as the texture looked rough. He pressed his hand against it. 'Funny, it's not cold. But neither warm.' His eyes traveled to the ceiling. "I suppose I could climb up... with that." A shiver ran down his spine, realizing what that meant. He walked away, going forward each time he had found a crossroad.

The crystal's light followed him, never leaving any corner too dark. Out of boredom, he knelt, inspecting one structure with illuminating balls floating inside. He narrowed his eyes but couldn't see any legs, wings, or heads, so they weren't an insect.

He touched the edge, finding it sharp but dull enough not to cause any deep cut. "I wonder..." He grabbed one and pulled. It snapped under his touch. He bared his teeth, expecting a disaster falling on his back. Yet the light inside didn't die out. "Great. This can be handy." He shoved it in his kimono and continued.

After what seemed like a few minutes, he found a large pillar with the biggest gems he had ever seen at its roots. It resembled a tree trunk spurting from a bird's nest. Except the bark was made of moss. The light reflected upon its white surface gave the tree a magical aura.

Kairo tilted his head, checking the top fusing with the ceiling. Openings covered the whole space like holes in swiss cheese. From his belly sounded disapproving growl. "I better find something to eat or drink." He stood on his toes, but it didn't help him find anything edible. He made another step when his ears twitched. Without thinking, his body turned, zigzagging among big nests of crystals."Could this be—!" He stopped in his tracks. "Water!" he shouted, throwing his arms into the air.

In front of him lay a lake with water running from an adjacent wall. He dashed toward it, gathering freezing water in his palms. He gulped it, not caring for the lack of taste.

"Ah!" he moaned as the freshness and coldness washed over him. "So good!" He submerged his head, unaware of a big creature closing in on him from behind.

Its long body was adorned by countless bug legs, pitter-patting on the stone surface. Its small, human face moved above the unsuspecting boy when Kairo shot his head upward.

The wave of cold water hit the monster straight in the face. "What the-!" it shouted, shaking its body.

Kairo shook his head like a dog and wiped his eyes. He looked behind, seeing the monster thrashing. He quickly stood up, clenching his fists.

"You little human!" the monster roared, its legs moving. The white skin turned so red, it was hard to spot the red fangs under its eyes.

"You big earwig!" Kairo replied, jutting his chin front.

The earwig monster lifted its body higher. "How dare you to be cheeky in front of me!"

Kairo lifted his eyebrow. "How am I cheeky? I'm a small human, and you are a big earwig. Those are facts." He shrugged his arms.

The corner of the monster's mouth twitched. It was hard to argue with this. "Well, well, aren't you handsome," the monster changed the subject. A sinister smirk spread across its face; a glimpse of razor teeth escaped.

"Can't argue with that." The bounty hunter posed to let his best feature highlight itself. "Who are you anyway?"

"You Can Call Me, Aum." The big earwig lowered his body. "Welcome to my domain."

Kairo's face wrinkled as he resisted the urge to plug his nose. The smell of fetid meat emerged from Aum's mouth. "Cool!" The boy gave him a thumbs-up, covering his protesting stomach. "Mind telling me where the nearest exit is? I'm kinda lost."

Aum chuckled. "Little, naive boy, there is no escape from this place." He lifted his head higher, looking down with narrowed eyes. Their black irises gleamed with sinister intentions.

Kairo put his arms akimbo. "Yeah, right. I got in. I can get out. Logic."

Aum moved behind the boy, forcing him to step away from the lake. He lowered his body, staring into Kairo's eyes from a shorter distance. "Too bad. You are destined to stay here."

"Says who?" The boy crossed his arms, digging his fingers to surpass the shiver. Saliva gathered in his mouth, but he refused to swallow.

"Rebellious, I see." The earwig monster paused for a bit. His face widened with a smile, showing razor teeth in their full beauty. "I like that. Actually, you can leave."

"Now I can?" Kairo lifted his left eyebrow. Even the cold droplets sliding down his skin couldn't calm him down. His heart thudded, sending the blood rushing through his body. The never-ending throbbing in his ears didn't help at all.

"Yes. It's simple."

Nothing could be easy about this. He could bet his debts on that. "Get on with it."

Angry veins popped behind Aum's eyes. But both disappeared as he chuckled. "Give me your face, and you can leave." The earwig's eyes widened in a twisted way, and the forked tongue licked his thin lips.

"Huh?" Kairo voiced with narrow eyes; his back bent a bit.

"What huh?" Aum replicated Kairo's long face. "You are supposed to be terrified!"

The bounty hunter sighed. "First"—he lifted his index finger—"I don't have a face to spare. It's kinda sticking to my... face?" He pinched himself to prove his point. "Neither I have a face to lose. You see, I'm not really into all those fancy face claims."

"I'll peel it!" Aum yelled, making the boy regret that he didn't have his umbrella. "Your face will be like an eggshell!"

"The smooth or wrinkled one?"

The monster's jaw dropped. "Wait... What?"

Kairo sighed. "Forget it." He moved his right leg a bit forward and shifted his weight on it. His hand went through his hair, messing them more; this allowed him to look around without raising suspicion.

Aum mumbled, dissatisfied with how this was proceeding. "I'm going to steal your face, so stay still." His head moved forward.

"Just like that? No false hope? No game I'm going to lose anyway?" Kairo shrugged his shoulders. "Quite disappointing."

"What game?"

Kairo stretched his neck. "Hmm, you don't have hands, so desktops are out," he thought aloud. "And with your I-can't-count-all-legs drive playing any field game would put me at an obvious disadvantage. No fun in that." The Face Stealer checked his legs, unable to imagine how he would pass the ball from the tenth pair to the sixty-fourth one. "So, what are you good at?" The boy interrupted Aum's inspection.

The monster had to think about this for a while, tapping his cheek. "I steal faces. That's all I do."

"Hmm." Kairo pondered about it, holding his cheek. "I think we can work with that."

Aum's face brightened. Excitement spread through his veins, filling him with fire from inside. This game could be an interesting idea. Till now everything was peel and go. In all honesty, it got repetitive.

"You've many faces, right?" Kairo asked.

The monster nodded. "Thousand upon thousands of them." He lowered his body, and his white face turned back. Kairo shivered, but instead of the back of his head, the boy saw another face. It was a woman with long brown hair and blue eyes. Before the boy could think who this was, the face disappeared.

This time he stared into the face of a small boy with glasses. The next one reminded him of a creepy clown, and after it followed the face of a baboon. "So, what do you say?" the baboon talked with Aum's voice.

"Quite impressive." He breathed. "But I guess you have to face a problem with choosing your face for your date, not just your clothes."

A bamboo-faced Aum frowned. "Whatever. To your game." His white face returned.

"It's simple. Since you have so many faces..." Kairo trailed off for a short while. "How about me describing a face. If you have it, I get a strike." He crossed his arms to emphasis his point. "If I get three of them, I'm out of my face."

The monster nodded, pleased with the idea, but those face puns started to irritate him. "Simple enough."

"But!" Kairo lifted his left index finger. "If you can't show me that face, I'm free to go. You have to show me the right way back to where I was before I ended up here. No backstabbing!"

Aum puckered his lips as his eyes rolled back. The boy got the condition right, yet an evil grin decorated the earwig's face. "This sounds good." His body moved closer to Kairo, making the space around him smaller.

The boy's fist bumped into the brown shell over the earwig's body. 'Seems tough.'

"Then start." The stench of rotten meat enveloped Kairo's mind. Peeling human's face wasn't like peeling a banana for sure.

"Green-eyed blondie!" Kairo shouted. More like an attempt to get Aum's face away from him than an actual answer; a grave mistake for sure.

The monster grinned, and his face turned into a smudge before it stopped on a green-eyed blond man.

"Oh, crab! I thought blondies are only blue-eyed!" Kairo stepped away, gritting his teeth.

"Think again." Aum snickered, unable to stop his body from shivering. 'This is so good!' His eyes glued on Kairo who was looking around, and his sweaty hands rubbed against his hakama. 'Why didn't I think about this earlier? This is so much fun!'

In all honesty, he never tried many of his faces after obtaining them. He stuck to the white one, despite forgetting from who he had stolen it from. 'I think it's time for a change. This boy's one will do.' The anticipation left his body as Kairo didn't place his second request. "The next one!"

Kairo leaped back, hitting the mass of the body. His eyes shot up. The last droplets of water from his hair fell on the rock beneath his legs. 'Dang!' Rushed through his mind. "A girl with a half-face from a machine! She has to be red-haired and middle-aged."

Aum's lips turned into a thin line. This time Kairo had presented a detailed description. "Very well. Let's see," the monster said, and his face turned into a blurry image.

Kairo gulped. 'Don't have it. Don't have it!' His heartbeat counted the passing seconds in his ears. Aum's face stopped. "Crab," mumbled Kairo when faced with the face he asked for. Kairo's body slid against the earwig's body.

The monster burst into laughter, and his body shook, slamming into the pillars around. The bounty hunter covered his ears. It took a minute or two for the earwig to calm down. "So good." He bolted toward Kairo, stopping only ten centimeters in front of the boy. "Thank you."

"You are welcome... I guess." Kairo shrank under Aum's creepy stare and wide toothy smile.

Aum retreated. "You gave my hunt a new meaning. For that, I'm grateful."

"So I get a free pass." Kairo made sad puppy eyes with a wide smile.

"No," the monster deadpanned.

"Figures." The boy's face stiffed.

"I'll wear your face. It's the greatest honor you can receive."

"Oh, lucky me." The bounty hunter rolled his eyes, crossing his arms.

"Now!" Aum barked. "Make your final choice!"

Kairo got back on his legs. This was it; now or never. His whole fate depended on this one pick.

Aum observed him. 'What will he choose? What faces do I have?' Over the countless centuries, he had gathered numerous faces. There was no way the boy wouldn't pick one of them. The monster knew he couldn't lose, yet excitement filled his body. 'Maybe I should make some list to keep a track.'

With each breath, he lowered his body, his mouth watering. 'Is this game working up my appetite?' He couldn't wait to find out.

"My... My last..." Kairo hesitated.

Aum lowered his head, so he was in front of the boy's face. "Yes?" He encouraged Kairo to continue.

"S-Show me..."

"Yes?" Irritation sapped from Aum's voice. He couldn't wait to suck out the new face. The taste of fresh meat brought him pleasure and a welcome break from monotonous life in this cave.

"My face!" Kairo yelled into Aum's face.

The earwig rocketed back. His heartbeat pulsated through his body. "What?" he asked, unable to process the words.

"I said, show me my face!" The boy's face widened with a triumph. "Can't do that?" he teased.

The woman's face turned crimson, grimacing. "That's cheating!"

"I'm not! You agreed on my rules!"

Angry veins popped all over Aum's face before his default white one returned. How could such a pipsqueak outsmart him? "You!" he shouted and dived down. His mouth was wide open, ready to bite Kairo's head off.

The boy smirked as he leaped forward, dive-rolling out of Aum's reach. The Face Stealer's fangs sunk into his shell, cracking it. He yelped, thrashing his body, but Kairo escaped.

"You twerp!" Aum howled. He panted for a few short seconds, and his face cleared of all anger. "Oh, Well. This Can Do Too." He chuckled. "Let The Main Game Begin."

He crawled forward, his legs fizzing in a creepy symphony. His prey had nowhere to run. There was no escaping from this place. And even if he could leave his cave, he would still find him outside. This whole world was his playground.

'Dang! Dang!' Kairo yelled at himself. 'That was freaky! Total Freakazoid!' He stumbled over a stone but caught his balance.

Aum's laugh resonated from behind him. As the boy looked over his shoulder, he rammed into a column. The stars danced all around him as his body wobbled to the ground. He crawled on all fours behind the obstacle, hiding his breath.

The pitter-patter of bug legs sent shivers down his spine as he held his breath. It crawled around him, and the light crystals cast an enormous shadow. Kairo followed it with his eyes unable to move. Aum stayed for a few moments before he went away.

The cavern turned silent. Kairo leaned to the left, glancing around the pillar; the coast was clear. He left out a sight before a drop of water landed on his neck. His fingers dug into the column, scratching the moss. He lifted his head, his face frowning.

"Hi," Aum chirped with the face of a maniac. His forked tongue hung down from his open mouth, letting Kairo observe the razor teeth.

"Bye!" The boy dashed, leaving kicked up moss behind.

The Face Stealer guffawed, waiting for the despair to sink deeper. "Just run! Run!" He encouraged Kairo to tire himself out. "Hunting's no fun without the prey trying to run away!"

Kairo gasped, getting short of breath. 'I have to... find a way out!' He stopped, resting his arms on his bent knees. He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"You are mine!" Aum shouted from behind.

The quick leap sideways saved Kairo from having to repair his kimono, but the patches weren't his main concern now. He growled, deflecting the next attack with his arm.

"Impressive!" The earwig stopped, towering above the boy. "You seem to be a bit stronger than I expected."

"I'm full of surprises." Kairo rubbed under his nose with his index finger. The cocky gesture masked the real state of his panicking mind. 'Don't stop moving.' Without warning, the boy dived, avoiding Aum's tail pincers. The appendix crushed the stone. "Too slow!" the boy taunted the monster.

Aum growled, and his tail flew toward the boy. Kairo smirked, ready to jump when his chest ached. It paralyzed his limbs, and the tail sent him flying. His frame crashed into a pillar, and Aum wrapped his lower body around him.

"You can't escape now!"

Kairo didn't pay him any attention. He couldn't breathe, and his chest threatened to explode. Each pang abused the flexibility of his ribs. 'What's this?' He gasped for air.

"You were one of the best preys I ever had. I will savor you."

"Choke," Kairo mumbled with the short breath he had.

The earwig monster smirked and lowered himself so his chest plates were in front of the boy. Kairo's eyes widened as his instinct screamed at him to run. The plates opened vertically, revealing a second mouth.

Kairo held his breath despite his empty lungs. The worst case of bad breath washed over his face. The fangs rotated inside in spirals, and the five wiggling tongues resembling leeches headed his way. Heatwave washed over Kairo's body, burning him inside out, and the pangs in his chest multiplied.

Kairo yelled.