i've got a secret to show.

Earlier that day, Takeru had called up Tatsui, telling him to come over to his house in sunlake palms.
"You can't miss it. It's the last house you'll see on the way to the forest on the main path there. I've got a secret I want to show you." Takeru said in terms of directions.
Now all he had to do was wait for him.
"You sure you wanna do this?" Twelve asked Takeru. "For all you know, he could be a cadet, and what you're about to show him is-" Twelve said before being shushed by Takeru.
"I know what i'm doing. Trust me." Said Takeru.

Hmm, I wonder why Takeru told me to go there of all places. It really seems out of place for a friendly hang out. And he also said he wanted to show me a secret? Hmm, I wonder what he is up to currently with this. I start going down the path and eventually get to where he said he would be and spot him. "Oh, there you are Takeru. Why did you call me out here all of a sudden for?" I ask curiously. I mean seriously, calling someone to the edge of the woods to show them a secret.... I mean I want to know the secret since he is inviting me, and I don't think he would be planning anything nasty, but still....

"Good, good... now... follow me." Takeru said, gesturing for death to follow him.
"Are you sure you want to do this? This is your last chance to back out." Twelve said.
"I.Trust. Him. Now be quiet." Takers responded.
Takeru led Tatsui a little ways out from where they started, to the edge of the forest, then began to dust the ground, to find a hidden handle... and pulled.
When he had finished, there was now a hole in the ground, and with it, a ladder leading inside.
"After you, my friend." Takeru said, gesturing towards it.

"Um, okay....." Why is he going all creeper on me? Huh? Why is he dusting the forest ground..... a handle? "What?" There was a hole there? With a ladder? Is it some like, secret bunker? "Okay.... sure." I say descending into the hole in the ground. Just what is going on with him now? Why show this to me? We just met and he is all, 'Here this is my spooky secret, let me be a creep and show it to you.' I don't know what is going through his mind, but I guess I will go inside this hole anyway.

Takeru followed him down, closing the door as he did so, causing a series of lights to come on. When they had reached the bottom, he began to explain why he had called him down here.
"Alright. We're here." He said.
"What I show you from here on out stays in here, got it?" He said to him.
Not bothering to wait,  he put his hand on the secret door, making it look like he was leaning on the wall.

Well then, looks like the lights went automatically on. He must come down here sometimes. "Ok, but where is here? Umm, ok?" He must really be paranoid about letting this get out. But if he is that paranoid, why is he letting me see it in the first place? *Sigh* So inconsistent, but I guess i'll go with it for now. "So, Takeru, what did you bring me down here for?" I ask straight out. *Sigh* Please answer the question and don't prolong this sense of anticipation.

"I brought you here... because of this!" Takeru said, pulling open the door to reveal a room which had been customized into a study.
There was a desk, a table, and several chairs in the room, amongst other things, but the most striking feature was the uncountable whole shelves of books off on the side, taking up a good half of the wall on one side of the study.
"Like it? This was my grandfathers. He built a lot of the furniture hinself, you know. Not bad for a former physics teacher, eh? This used to be an old basement, that is, until he decided to redecorate it. Majorly." He said.
"He has a lot of books, and this used to be his old physics laboratory... which is why he keeps it secret: he doesn't want anyone breaking here in search of valuables. Some of this stuff is pretty valuable, you know." He said, gesturing towards some equipment covered by a sheet.
"He added the secret door in order to further deter thieves, and that's why the hatch is also hidden. That's how valuable some of this stuff is." He explained.

Hmm? Well that was a tad dramatic, now what is with this little study? There is some decent furniture and a load of books. "Oh, that's pretty cool." So this stuff has only been here for like, a few decades at most. And yet it looks so good. Takeru must be maintaining this place well. But why all the secrecy about it? "So this place used to be a laboratory?" I guess that could certainly explain the secrecy. All sorts of expensive scientific equipment, and all these books. "Nice, so, Takeru, why are you showing me all this? I mean, it's neat and all, but you seem a tad too paranoid if it's just about some books and equipment. So what is this really about?" Let's hope that he tells me the entire answer this time. I hate being led by the nose, so I just want to know what is what and get on with it.

"Well... it's because of this." he said, pulling out an old key with a symbol on it. "This key is something I found a while back. My grandpa told me it unlocks something in the forest, but not to go alone... you wanna come with me to see what it unlocks? He said it was a surprise, and that we would know we found it when we see it." Takeru asked him.

Hmm? A key? I guess it's for something in here, so what does it unlock? "Wait, you haven't seen what this key unlocks? Really? Wow, I guess you really take your instructions seriously." Hmm, so it really must be something to be quite paranoid about. Hmm, should I take him up on his offer to see it.... pffftttt hahahahahha I can't believe I thought that, I already decided it a few minutes ago. "I guess I'm ready to see it Takeru, are you?"

"Sure." He said. He opened the door outside, and began to walk to the shed.
It was about twenty minutes before they found it.
"Here we are. Man, no wonder he said to bring somebody else." He said, upon realizing that, judging how the stiff the door hinges were, even when he unlocked it, he realized that, in this case, he would need two people to open it.
He simply wasn't strong enough on his own to tug it open.

"Hey, Tatsui. Gimme a hand. The hinges on this thing are stiff." He said, trying to pull it open.

Huh, walking through the woods. So this is like the secret to a secret place is in another secret place within a secret place. Such secretception. Huh, so I guess we are here now at a shed. Wait, is that door almost stuck? Is that why two people are necessary? "Ok Takeru, I got it." I say grabbing the hinges and pulling with all my might. Quite strong considering my frequent excersize.

—Strength Name: Honed Muscles
—Description: Tatsui has been an avid fan of working out and has frequently done hard physical labor. This boosts Tatsui's Dex by 15%

—Strength Name: Durable Legs
—Description: His working out has also well condition his legs, making him a well paced and fast mover. This translates into 2x distance travelled per dungeon post.

#Strength&Endurance

"Wow. Glad I picked you, then. Thanks." He remarked, and the two of them soon were able to pull it wide open, the door creaking open, and some dust came loose, causing Takeru to cover his face until it cleared.

"Okay... wow. I guess this place hasn't been opened in a while." Takeru remarked. "Now what's in... wow.... Tatsui! You gotta take a look at this." Takeru said, looking at what lay before them.
Inside was a veritable treasure trove of antiques.

"Don't. Touch. Anything." He said, taking in the sight of it carefully.
There was a set of old samurai armor on one side, a family shrine in the center, and a set of scrolls as well on the right, amongst other things.
What caught his attention though...
Was the two Katanas hanging on the wall next to a portrait with what he recognized as the Kagemaru family crest on the left.
"Wow... Grandpa always said I was descended from a line of samurai, and that the family immigrated here years ago... but... wow. I didn't expect to find this stuff here... no wonder he kept it a secret..." He said, struck in awe.

"What do you think? Was that worth it?" Takeru said, turning to face Tatsui.

"No problem. Now what's in here..." Damnit it's so dusty in here. Was this even opened within a decade? I guess not.  "Hmm? Look at what? Woah, aren't these like antiques? I know, geez." Hmm, so what do we have in here? An old samurai armor, a shrine of some sort, some scrolls.... Hmm? Two actual Katanas, and what is that emblem? "Wait what? Descended from a line of Samurai? As in those that ruled Japan until like 300 years ago?" Holy shit, that is some cool heritage. Huh, but wait, I thought it would be some sort of conspiracy stuff based on the lab we were previously in. "So, yeah I guess that this was worth it. But honestly, I don't get it. Why the secrecy? I mean, I understand that your grandfather would want to protect this but, why the extreme secrecy about it? It's just relics of the past and some cool history." I am honestly baffled by this, I mean, I am of Japanese descent and I bet that some of my ancestors were also samurai, maybe some of a samurai lineage,so why so secret?

"True... but look at the armor and Katanas! Do you have any idea how much this stuff would be worth to the right buyer? This stuff is priceless!" He exclaimed.

"If anything, he probably kept it secret from thieves... and because of that." Takeru said, pointing to the shrine, then examining some of the scrolls gingerly. "Yup. It's that... and because, now, I could be wrong... but I think there are two other reason why." He said. "One, the shrine and scrolls, and i'm willing to bet some of the stuff here are probably contraband religious items, and there's probably enough to get one sent to prison for quite a long time..." He began.

"And two, according to these scrolls..." He began.
"... this stuff is to be kept within the family. To lose any of it to anything bar nature and time itself, a great dishonor." He added, before turning to Tatsui.

"Well, since we're in this together... you better not tell anyone we have religious contraband. Last thing I need is to dishonor the family AND get sent to prison as well." Takeru said to Tatsui.