“Hah! Remind me never to piss you off!” A man shouted from behind me.
The Galerose Family made their way to me a few minutes after I’d defeated the Jikininki King. There were only three of them, each wearing their signature black and gold soldier outfit with the matching hat. Two of the men were absolutely covered in Jikininki gore – blood and bits of those black masses –, while the last was comparatively spotless. The bloodiest man, the one that’d called out to me, knelt down to observe my handiwork. I scanned the vaguely familiar man as I did.
NAME: SACHIEL GALEROSE
APPROXIMATE LEVEL: 315
CLASS: A
SHIFTER: UNLIKELY
“Hey, kid?” Sachiel called as he looked over the Jikininki King’s corpse. “How many of these things did you kill?”
“Tell me you got more than two,” Another man said in a somewhat sarcastic tone. According to my System, his name was Saniel.
The spotless man, Tartys according to my System, gloured at me as he waited for my response.
“Four…?” I finally answered, unsure what was happening here. I clarified. “One this morning, then three just now.”
All three of the men darkened for a moment. Sachiel stood to his feet as Saniel put his blood-soaked hands in his pockets. Tartys, meanwhile, looked up at the sky like he’d just been shot. Before I could ask what any of this was about, the two bloodied men burst into teary-eyed laughter. Tartys, meanwhile, continued to stare into the sky like a kid who’d gotten his birthday ruined by a Gremlin.
“See that, Tartys?” Sachiel laughed. “Even the children could kill these whelps!”
“I would’ve killed more of them!” Tartys snapped. “You two killed them before I had a chance to finish them off! I would’ve won if you two played fair!”
“Well, you know what they say about life,” Saniel teased.
The three went back and forth like that for a while. As Sachiel put it, the three were having a competition to see who could kill the most Jikininki. Sachiel and Saniel both had kills in the tens while Tartys had only managed to kill two. Everything had stopped the moment Yugo popped up, though. He’d gone straight to the source of the outbreak where a Level 200 “Jikininki Overlord” had been commanding the Myths to overtake Miyafokuu Prefecture.
“The man ripped the thing apart!” Sachiel noted. He crossed his arms. “You wanna talk about stolen kills? Yugo took our kill! Imagine displaying the Jikininki Overlord’s body in the Atrium and surrounding it with all of the Kings and Lords we slew!”
As if summoned, Yugo approached from down the empty street. He had a sack of Jikininki corpses tied to his back like a morbid, oversized backpack. Just like Sachiel and Saniel, Yugo was covered head to toe in Jikininki gore.
“I didn’t see your name on the Overlord’s head,” Yugo joked.
The Galeroses didn’t find it funny.
The first thing Yugo did when he approached us was conjure up and pass me a shirt identical to the one I’d lost. He stared at my brand for a moment, though he didn’t say anything about it which I appreciated. Second, he looked down at the Jikininki King I’d killed. After echoing Sachiel’s exact statement about pissing me off, he proceeded to cover it with a tarp conjured from nothing. He did the same with the Jikininki he’d been carrying after placing them on the sidewalk beside us. I didn’t understand why he was attempting to hide the bodies, but it became clear as a familiar voice called out to me.
”You!”
“Penelope Lane?!” Sachiel called, his voice filled with panic. “What are you still doing here?!”
I turned to find that kid from earlier running straight for me. Now that I could see more than just their eyes, I could tell it was a young girl, though perhaps it should’ve been obvious considering she was Contracted to a Hag. I analyzed her as she approached.
NAME: PENELOPE LANE
APPROXIMATE LEVEL: 13
CLASS: B
SHIFTER: LIKELY
As a Class B, the only signs of her Contract with a Hag were her sharp, pointy nose and unnaturally sharp nails. Other than that, she looked like every Burnish kid I’d ever encountered; blue overalls, a color-block sweatshirt, white sneakers, and scruffy dirty-blonde hair. Trailing behind her was an older Saikyojin lady walking with the support of a thick wooden cane. The Galeroses’ worry redoubled, all three rushing over to the two to ensure their safety and that of everyone in the building.
As the Galeroses focused on the citizens, Yugo and I were left with Penelope and the older woman. Penelope rushed over to me after finishing up a conversation with Tartys with the older woman trailing behind her.
“The Galerose guys said that I’m gonna get a medal for protecting the building! They were super impressed” Penelope beamed.
“I bet they were!” Yugo called. He patted her on the head. “My Myth saw the sigils you used and he says those are ancient! Keep practicing and you’re gonna be a real force.”
“Thank you!” Penelope smiled. “But you should’ve seen Silver Hair! He’s a real force!”
“Silver Hair?” Yugo and I said at the same time, with differing levels of amusement.
“Yeah!” She sank into her approximation of a battle position. “He was all pssh, boom, boom, bang! Then he was all ‘Your only mistake was fighting me!’ Then he ripped its arms off. It was super cool!”
“Didn’t know you had that in you,” Yugo laughed.
“I… get like that when I’m fighting. I’ve been like that since I was a kid. I can’t help it,” I corrected myself, standing a bit straighter in a poor attempt to hide my utter embarrassment. “If you want me on your team, you’ll have to get used to it.”
“Don’t you worry about it, boy,” The older woman said, speaking for the first time. “I’ve seen those Galerose kids rip a Myth apart like cheap fabric!” She shook her head. “The children love the spectacle. I don’t know what the fascination is…”
“It’s cool!” The young girl said at the same time as Yugo.
The older woman sighed, shaking her head and reaching into her pocket and revealing a $100 bill. She handed it to me with a smile.
“Take it, boy. I know it’s hard fighting out there. Treat yourself, okay?”
“I will. Thank you, ma’am.” I said, recalling Mrs. Perrow’s many lessons on the importance of ‘Thank You’. I did my best not to shiver at the haunting memories.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Yugo turned to me with a look of abject horror. He leaned in and whispered a bit too loudly, “Rui, you were supposed to act like you didn’t want it! It’s rude if you just take it without some push-and-pull!”
“But I do want it. When someone offers something, they’ve already decided to part with it. Not taking it suggests that you feel they aren’t capable of making sound decisions.”
“Oh stop it, you two!” The older woman laughed. “I would’ve insisted anyway. Besides, I know the Galerose Family is offering up big money for those Jikininki anyway. Consider this a bonus.”
While I didn’t agree with Yugo’s call for humility, I had to admit that I could’ve shown a bit more gratitude. I bowed at the waist, repeating my thanks before wishing the two well. She was right, these Jikininki needed to be turned in. More than that, I needed to see Averyl before I left for the Seekers. It would’ve been in poor taste of me to not see her off. Besides, I still needed her opinion on Yugo.
***
For all Yugo’s talk about my supposed brutality, he’d ended up personally cutting the heads off of every Jikininki he and I had killed and gathered them all in a black garbage bag. Miraculously, it didn’t have any sort of odor, but that didn’t make the sight any less morbid. Averyl hadn’t reacted negatively like I’d expected, spending far more time complaining to herself about how long it’d take to clean her desk. I’d offered to help but she refused, saying she’d take care of it as soon as her shift ended.
When she’d finally tallied all twenty-three Jikininki heads, she wrote me a check for $46,000. It was the most money I’d ever held at a time in my life, not counting any of those expensive trophies and items in the Fallen Star Cult. Mrs. Perrow had said that while Bounty Hunting was a dangerous profession, there was a reason the wealthiest members of society were usually Bounty Hunters.
Rather than go through the whole song and dance with her using her Oni ability to take me to her office, I simply asked if I could go there to talk about something important. She’d agreed, leading me down the beige-and-wood hallways most of the world saw when they were in Galerose Tower. She’d still activated her Oni illusion to give the room that mystical forest look, though.
“What did you want to talk about?” Averyl began, folding her hands on her desk. “Is everything alright?” She gave me an amused look. “Surely you aren’t having money problems?”
“It’s not that,” I began. “It’s… Do you remember when you said to tell you about anyone trying to recruit me for their team?”
“I do. I’m guessing that day has finally come? I’d assumed it’d start once you hit Level 50.” She leaned forward, her face suddenly serious. “Who reached out to you?”
“Do you know someone named Yugo?”
“Oh, him,” Averyl groaned, all traces of severity gone. She relaxed, leaning back in her chair, though there was an overwhelming air of disinterest in her voice when she spoke again. “He’s a good guy. Strong. He takes up high-paying bounties that our family doesn’t send out. I’m guessing he promised to make you strong, right? He isn’t lying. If you’re going to join a group, the Seekers are a great choice. Probably the best, really.”
“If that’s the case, why am I getting the impression that you don’t like him?”
“For starters, he’s a total womanizer.”
“Do you say that from… uh… experience?”
Averyl snorted. “Hell no. I don’t think there’s a woman in the family that’d go for him. Outside, though? Forget about it. You know some of us have made a game to count how many women we catch him out with during the week? It’s a fun little pastime. Our current record is fourteen.”
“Not to be rude or anything, but that doesn’t matter to me. So long as he can make me strong, I could care less how he spends his free time.”
Averyl gave me a pained look. “You sound like my father. He said the same thing.” She smiled, light returning to her golden eyes. “My mother wasn’t so kind, though. Scared him half to death when they first met! You should’ve seen him!”
She’d begun to cackle at the memory like a cartoon villain, a departure from the relatively collected woman I’d come to know. There was so much I didn’t know about Averyl Galerose, despite her being the only person I’d gotten close to in the entire Azuma Saikyo region. I was close with the Perrow family in my home region of Bukimiburgh, but I didn’t see them the way I saw Averyl. As uncomfortable as it was to admit, I saw Averyl in the same light I saw my mother of all people. Part of me didn’t want to leave the city behind, though the louder part of me knew it was a necessity. It’d been a necessity in the Fallen Star Cult and it’d been a necessity in the Perrow household.
“Fight for your happiness, Rui. Fight for your freedom! Don’t you ever stop fighting for them, okay?”
“Listen, Rui. Don’t make that face. Sure my mother and I weren’t big fans of Yugo when we first met him, but he’s made good on his promises to us thus far. Our Somnia went from Level 23 to Level 57 after just two missions with him! More importantly, though, I think it’ll be good for you to socialize with kids your age. Somnia’s your age and that Archie kid is a year older. You three’ll be best friends before you know it.”
“I’m not afraid to join him. I’ve… already made my mind up.” Before I knew it, I was standing; pacing around the room as I attempted to form the right words. Averyl watched me all the while, her face softening in a way that once again reminded me of my mother. It made it hard for me to hold her gaze.
“It’s… I just… Goodbyes for me normally end in some sort of bloodshed. The Perrows were kind of an exception, but I left them behind to stop the possibility of leading any danger to their front door. So for me to just… go… It… I’m sorry, I don’t know what to say. I thought I did, but I didn’t.” I turned to her. “I just know that… you’ve… been good to me. So… thank you.”
Averyl responded with the softest, most tender smile from someone who wasn’t named Anya Payne. She stood to her full height, which was a head taller than me. Wordlessly, she placed her hand on the back of my head and leaned forward, closing her eyes and touching her forehead to mine.
“I’ll miss you too, Rui.” She continued, her words almost whisper-soft. “You are strong, you are resilient, and you are good. No matter where life takes you, know that you are on an unending path towards victory.” She opened her eyes just a bit, staring deep into mine. “This is not a goodbye. It’s a promise to meet again. I can’t wait to see how much you grow in your time away.”
She closed her eyes again, leaving the mystical room silent as we stood in that strange embrace. I tried to say something, but the growing lump in my throat and the overwhelming emotion prevented any words from coming out. I didn’t cry or anything, but if I’d attempted to speak… So, we stayed silent. It felt like minutes, but it could’ve been hours. Even Fallen Star, who normally thrashed about in my mind, was uncharacteristically calm; rumbling softly and rhythmically like a sleeping Goblin.
When I left Galerose Tower, Yugo was sitting on a steel bench eating some ball-shaped snack on a skewer. Compared to the quiet, small-townish vibe of southern Miyafokuu, the area surrounding Galerose Towers was a bustling metropolis. Despite that, though, Yugo seemed to stand out among the crowd. It was something about him that set him apart from people that I couldn’t exactly place. He turned to me and shoved a skewer in my face.
“Eat up! It’s on me!”
I accepted the meal, though I regretted it instantly. Mrs. Perrow’s… love-filled meals were the only reason I was able to stomach it. I knew better than anyone how to choke down disgusting food.
“Thanks. It’s delicious,” I lied.
Yugo smiled with cheeks full of the stuff. He drank it down with a peach-flavored soda and stood to his feet. “I heard you got a lot of money today. Wanna go on a shopping spree before we head out?”
“No, I’m good. I have nothing I want. If we can stop by a post office, though, that’d be nice.”
“But you were so eager to come here. I assumed you’d want a new wardrobe or some weapons or something?”
“I’m sending it to my foster family. I used to want to buy a house in the middle of nowhere, but you kept bragging about the Seekers HQ being a house in an open field earlier, so I don’t need the money anymore. If you’re going to look after me and the others, you can pay for the stuff I need.”
“You know, that’s the closest thing to a yes you’ve given me…” Yugo beamed. “I’ll take it!”
“So how are we getting there? Is it far?”
Yugo conjured an expensive-looking gold wristwatch, realized he couldn’t read it, then pulled out his phone. “Well, the next train comes in twenty minutes and we still need to go to the post office.”
“Is that how you got here? The train?”
“Did you think I flew?”
My cheeks heated. “You… teleported earlier! In the alleyway!”
“I can teleport short distances, but not far enough to get us home in a blink. But I do have this!” Yugo rummaged through his pocket and revealed a plastic gold card with the name “Jefferson Winslow” written on it. “I have a gold card with Mamoru Railway. I get discounted first-class tickets. That’s pretty special, isn’t it?”
“...I suppose.”