Chapter Text
Glossary:
Explorers - corp regiments who explore the backrooms individually or in small groups. Similar to slayers, they are well trained for both combat & survival
- main goal: to explore uncharted territory + try to find the exit
- members - shinobu, mitsuri, muichiro, kanao, inosuke
Mentors - hashiras or high level ranking Corps members who teach newcomers. They have experience in exploring backroom levels, but they go back to level 0 to teach
- members - giyu, rengoku, obanai, urokodaki
Slayers - regiments who slay backrooms entities, also known as demons. Also provides raids & rescues. Unlike explorers, slayers don’t move around. Instead, they have a solid base on one or two levels
- members - sanemi, gyomei, tengen, hinatsuru, suma, makio
First Aid - regiments who help injured wanderers recover. Usually nurses, doctors or other medically trained volunteer. They have established bases on safe zone levels
- members - aoi, sumi, kiyo, naho (butterfly mansion girlies)
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For the past six months, Shinobu had been living in a yellow room.
Her eyes scanned the surroundings - yellow walls, yellow tiled ceilings and the constant buzz of overhead lights that seemed to permeate the entire space.
She didn’t know exactly when everything fell into place. When the months of training, reading and preparing had blurred once she crossed that threshold and now into the reality of the backrooms before her.
Just six months ago, she was living in her small apartment unit, working a regular 9-5. Now, she was an explorer, working under a shadow organisation known as the Corps - who guide, fight and protect wanderers, as well as make sense of the labyrinth.
Within a few weeks of training she was deemed worthy of entering the beginning level of the backrooms - Level 0, “the Lobby”. It was jarring to say the least. Even with an established base of seasoned Corp members around her, she could feel her sanity slipping with every buzz of the lights.
“Hallucinations are common,” Giyu had explained. “You may see shadows in the corner of your eyes or feel sensations that are not there. It’s important to remember this level has no entities. Everything you see and feel is psychological.”
It took her a good two weeks to rid herself of those hallucinations. She distracted herself with other things - training with Giyu, sparring with Mitsuri, and guiding the occasional wanderer to their small base. It was nothing more than a few tents, but it was a safe zone nonetheless.
Somewhere along the way, between training and reconnaissance, Shinobu had climbed the ranks and become a Hashira, one of nine elite members of the Corps. And with that, she was promoted to an explorer and will be assigned her first mission with five other Hashiras.
And she will, for the first time in six months, leave Level 0.
Excitement wasn’t the right word to describe her emotions, nor was anxiety. Shinobu was otherwise indifferent to the change. For this was only the first step of her true goal.
Rolling up her sleeping bag, she recalled the day before, of Ubayashiki’s final message to them.
Their mentor, though frail and wheelchair bound, had visited all six of them one last time before they left Level 0.
“My students. Although it may be grim to say this, but this level is only a fraction of what you’ll experience in the rest of the backrooms. The rules you’ve come to rely on - gravity, time, even the strength of your own bodies - may not apply there. Stay close, and trust each other. Fear will whisper lies into your ears, but courage is not the absence of fear, it is choosing to move forward despite it.”
“Remember what I’ve taught you: anchor your mind, steady your breath, and never forget who you are. If you lose sight of yourself, the dimension will gladly rewrite you into something unrecognisable. Step carefully, for this journey will test more than your skill. It will test your soul. Good luck my students."
Ubayashiki smiled sadly. “And farewell. For no matter how much I’ve trained you, it is possible that I will never see some of you again.”
Giyu remained unfazed, unsurprising since this was his third time returning to Level 0. Rengoku was the same, although his usual smile was more tense.
Mitsuri had cried. Shinobu was surprised to see that Obanai, usually unemotional, had put an arm around her in comfort. Muichiro, the rumoured prodigy who was barely fourteen, didn’t even blink.
As for Shinobu, she had felt something close to relief. Over the last several decades, missing person reports had skyrocketed through all nations. Not only that, entities known as demons had been found wandering through their world. The Corp had speculated these man eating demons must have no-clipped out of the backrooms and into their reality. Monsters were, quite literally, ravaging through their world.
Precisely why the Corps was founded in the first place. To explore and research the backrooms in hopes of finding an exit for those trapped within and a way to seal the demons permanently inside.
So far, both attempts had been unsuccessful. But Shinobu knew better than to give up. Especially when she was so close.
The objective of the mission was simple. Like all other Corps explorers before them, the six were to find an exit, help wanderers and navigate uncharted levels.
Level 0 was classified by the Corps to be safe, with no entities - the reason why it had the biggest Corp base. Shinobu felt a faint pang of melancholy as she disassembled her tent. It wasn’t much but for the past six months it had been her home. She sighed once, giving herself only a minute, before moving on to gear up.
Rengoku handed out packs of freeze-dried meals, while Obanai helped Mitsuri put on her bullet proof vest beneath the outer layer of their uniform. Shinobu armed herself with methodical efficiency.
She had done this countless times before that it had become a routine - strap her nichirin blade to her belt, load bullets into her pistol, sheath daggers into leg holders. Food and almond water was next - at least a month’s worth was packed tightly into her bag, right beside a sleeping bag, rope and a watch.
Due to her short stature, she wasn’t able to carry her tent. Corps members, explorers especially, needed their bodies to be nimble and lightweight. Packing too much would only slow her down. Giyu had offered to carry the tent for her, but she declined. A sleeping bag would be enough.
When they had all finished packing, a suited Corp member, already in the backrooms, escorted them through the level. They lifted their helmet, and Shinobu recognised them as Hinatsuru, one of Tengen’s wives who had established a permanent base as part of the Sound regiment.
Hinatsuru gave a tight smile before walking briskly, leading them through a path of taped white lines. None of them spoke. Shinobu could understand. A mission with three new Hashira explorers. And for Giyu, Rengoku and Obanai - a new cycle all the way back to Level 0.
But Shinobu had long accepted her fate. Yet she couldn’t help but wonder if the others had too. Muichiro, although several years younger than her was so aloof and calm. Was it an act or was he truly not afraid?
Mitsuri seemed to be the only who was outwardly nervous. Shinobu couldn’t understand why. In their makeshift training arena, Mitsuri scored the highest in terms of physical strength, even higher than Muichiro. Even though it was her first mission, she had no reason to doubt herself.
But the thought of Mitsuri - the girl who shared a tent with her, who made her laugh even in the bleakest days - getting lost in the backrooms, and possibly even not coming back?
Shinobu’s nails dug into her palm. Now was not the time to get cold feet. Not when she worked so hard to become an explorer. Not when she was so close to finding out what had truly happened.
She reached into her pocket and clutched her butterfly hairpin tightly. Just by feeling its shape calmed her.
Six months ago - before the backrooms, before the Corps - her sister had bought them both matching hairpins. Kanae had barely been twenty when she was assigned her first exploration.
As Corp explorers, their mission was to explore the labyrinth that was the backrooms - make sense of the space, and record uncharted territory for the Corp’s ever growing expansion.
Kanae had been positive there was a way out of the backrooms. She had dedicated her entire life to exploring, which was precisely what led to her downfall.
Shinobu’s jaw clenched at the memory. The last recording ever documented by the Flower regiment explorer Kanae Kocho was a blurry video of her standing in front of a beautiful Japanese mansion, filled with lanterns and koi ponds.
Before she entered and was never seen again.
That was all she had of her sister. A blurry recording.
Her body was never recovered. No witnesses to confirm she was alive.
But Shinobu was determined. Already being part of the Corps, she had poured through every last second of her sister’s camera logs, read the Corps files on every known level, every known entity.
She had trained for months - fasting for days at a time, finding her way through sensory deprivation, honing her body until it was a living weapon.
She had done it all, just so she could become an explorer and with each step forward, she was closer to the truth behind Kanae’s disappearance.
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The white tapes ended once the seven reached the Manilla room - a reconnoissance area for Corps members to regroup, and a safe zone for wanderers.
A camera was set in the corner of the room, its red light blinking. Only when everyone had sat down that Hinatsuru began speaking.
“This is Hinatsuru Tengen from the Sound regiment speaking,” she addressed to the camera.
“I have successfully escorted the Corp faction W-145 Exploration team through Level 0. I am present with explorers Giyu Tomioka, Shinobu Kocho, Kyujuro Rengoku, Muichiro Tokito, Mitsuri Kanroji and Iguro Obanai. All parties’ mental states are stable. No audible or sensory hallucinations detected. I will continue to provide assistance until the explorers have no-clipped onto Level 1 or else depending on their assigned mission.”
Giyu spoke next, his voice measured. “Tomioka reporting. As per Ubayashiki’s orders, our exploration group has been split into three teams. I am currently partnered with explorer Kocho. Our mission is to travel to Level 10 and regroup with the Butterfly regiment, helping them assist with medical aid and first response.”
Or at least, that was the initial plan, Shinobu thought.
There’s no question that Shinobu respects the Corps’ policies. At the end of the day, protecting the people is their main focus. However, the level Kanae went missing on, was Level 94.
Her sister had travelled through 94 levels. And Shinobu had promised herself six months ago, that she would do the same. The only question was, how does she seperate herself from Giyu?
Rengoku cleared his throat, bringing Shinobu out of her thoughts.
“Explorer Rengoku reporting,” he announced, voice clear but not as loud as it usually was. “I am partnering with Muichiro Tokito. Our objective is to explore the poolrooms on Level 37 as well as its sub levels. We are hoping to draw out the entity Waxing Moon 5 and neutralise it.”
The room seemed to tense at the Waxing Moon being mentioned. Shinobu recalled Kanae’s video file explaining the demon entities. There were several entity classes assigned by the phases of the moon.
Crescent moon entities were the most common and easily defeated, however, many first time explorers or slayers can easily get devoured if not careful.
Waning moons were more difficult to defeat. They were part of a larger group of powerful entities called the “Kizuki”. The Waning Moons were the lower six of the Kizuki. And although they were small in number, they are far more advanced and intelligent than crescent entities.
Still, for Hashira level explorers like herself, the waning moons shouldn’t be a problem. She’s heard of the Shinazugawa, from the wind regiment, who brought down Waning Moon 4.
Waxing moons, however, were a different league. There was little information on them, with waxing moons 1-3 having almost no intel. That was to be expected, of course, as very little people come across a waxing moon and lived to tell the tale.
Kanae, she suspected, most likely encountered one of them.
A nervous chuckle sounded from her right. Mitsuri fidgeted with the end of her braid as she faced the camera. “Explorer Kanroji reporting. I am partnered with explorer Ig- Obanai. We are to find slayer Tengen’s sound base on Level 11 and assist with recon.”
Shinobu glanced at Obanai’s face, still calm despite Mitsuri’s slip up. For someone who is supposed to be her mentor, he’s quite close to her. She smiled sadly. If the two were in any other occupation, they would have lived a happy life together.
Hinatsuru nodded. “This will be the end of W-145 Log 1.” She turned the camera off before pocketing it.
“Well, since the briefing is over, I will be escorting you to the no-clip area. Follow closely behind.” As she turned, her gaze lingered on Shinobu for a second longer, before walking off.
Shinobu knew why. It was, afterall, Hinatsuru who gave her all of Kanae’s footage, down to the last second before she disappeared. Normally, SD cards were sent by crow drones, but Hinatsuru had personally came to Level 0 to deliver them.
The thoughtfulness was not lost on her. She’ll have to find the time to thank her.
They approached the end of the hallway, where one wall was a shade darker than the rest of the bright yellow. Hinatsuru stepped up first, and laid a hand on the wall.
In a blink of an eye, she disappeared, no-clipping onto the next level.
Rengoku grinned. “It’s been a while since I’ve done this. Let’s hope this time, the journey is smooth sailing.” He glanced down at Muichiro. “Well then, after you.”
Muichiro simply rolled his eyes and stepped through the wall, earning a hearty laugh from Rengoku, who no-clipped a second later. Mitsuri and Obanai held hands before stepping through.
That left Shinobu and Giyu. For a few reasons, she was grateful that Giyu was her mentor. While he wasn't as boisterous as Rengoku or gentle as Obanai was around Mitsuri, he was efficient. Giyu wasn’t the type of person to let personal feelings attach - precisely why she worked well with him.
Shinobu didn’t need a friend, only someone to prepare her for what’s about to come. It wasn’t done out of cold-heartedness, but rather, she didn’t want anyone to mourn her when she would inevitably die.
“Level 1 will be a safe zone,” Giyu spoke. “It will consist of all basic necessities and more. You will need them for Levels 2 and 3. I trust that you’ve memorised up to the first fifty levels?”
Shinobu nodded curtly. But before she could reach for the wall, Giyu’s hand wrapped around hers. She stilled.
Giyu stared at her with the same neutral expression, but the edges of his eyes seemed softer than before. “I want to..offer my condolences. I worked with Kanae briefly. She was a brilliant Hashira and was incredibly dedicated to the Corps. This may not mean much, but I pray she rests in peace.”
Shinobu stared at him for a long time, before pulling her hand away. She gave him a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “There is no confirmation, Tomioka, that she is deceased. Officially, she is missing.”
Giyu stepped forward as wanting to say more, but she already knew what he would tell her - that being dead and missing in the backrooms was essentially the same.
No matter how deluded her hope was, it was hope nonetheless. She had to cling on the slimmest possibility that Kanae was alive. Or at least, her body was intact and she could bring her home.
But in order to that, there can’t be any distractions. Without looking back, Shinobu pressed her hand to the wall, and no-clipped onto the next level.