>Draw Aya's attention to the bit of hole.
>Look around for others.
You show Aya what you found. Scoping out for a few other holes and marking them. There are a few places without any holes along the way.
You're fairly sure there are a few other traps without the same tell tale, and to prove your own point, you toss a stick down one of your 'clear' paths, and it lands on a space that explodes, promptly reforming.
Frightening.
> Keep poking that stick around. Throw some rocks around to see if there are any traps that activate from a distance.
> Idea: pull out the length band and let Chen and Aya each hold an end of it. Then let Chen use agility and carefulness to get past the traps, all the while holding on to that band. Once Chen is on the other side, let Aya jump up/stop putting force on the band, making her get pulled to Chen by the band's elastic force. This'll get Aya over to the other side without her accidetaly falling into the traps. And it'll finally give some use to that band.
> If anyone objects to this wacky idea then just let Chen and Aya get across the Dead Zone the normal way.
Question: How old does Chen look actually? i'm finding it hard to imagine her as older. I constantly see her as the same, little child from before the incident, about twelve or so. Does she currently look like fourteen or sixteen or something like that? How big is she compared to Aya for example? Is she still a pettanko or did she go through some development?
You poke that stick around, finding a few more traps here and there. Pretty soon, you've found only one spot on the outer ring has no trap.
You contemplate an Idea, though it could be a bit over the top. You still need to find a way across the DEAD ZONE, anyway.
>AFTA (Answer from the Author): Early-Mid teenage years (Despite being rather older, Youkai appearance stems mostly from their mindset in CDO, after all.) So fourteen would be a good estimate. Compared to Aya... Well. Only half a head or so shorter. Aya herself is really still leaning towards the teenage years, being well...Aya. Chen is not Pettanko Chen, due to the age shift.