The day had arrived quickly, Jin warped himself and Kanashi to the city of Ruperta. From there they both headed towards the northern harbor where Kanashi would board the Cymba.
The Cymbas route was pretty simple in of itself. It had departed from Olympos and swam across the Feral Sea until reaching the New Spanish Republic which it made a short stop at for a week. It then left the Spanish Republic and continued down south to Ruperta where it would pick up Kanashi and then head through Wars Crossing. A small patch of ocean between the Verous Union and Paraus coast. After that it would go across the Grand Ocean and around the globe to Edoland.
Wars crossing was something Kanashi was very excited about seeing, it was an infamous battle field that the ancient countries which would later become the Verous Union and Paraus fought across. The grandest of pre industrial naval warfare occurred right there in that very shallow patch of water. It’s said if the tide is low enough you can see the remains of a wooden ship on the bottom like a blanket of destruction. Kanashis father, being a Historian, got to visit the location a few times and always told Kanashi about all the new artifacts they found and theories they’d created when he returned.
Actually this would be the first time Kanashi saw the sea in a long time. When he was a little kid his mom took him on a trip to the northern Saharian city of Maine where he saw the Golden Sea but that was over a decade ago. Now he could see an entirely different sea from across the world full of new interesting life. Hell he would ride across the ocean too! Talk about a double whammy.
Now only if it snowed along the way…
As Jin and Kanashi walked across the city of Ruperta Kanashi got to see the Demon Race for the first time, well not the first time exactly but he’d never seen them in this great of numbers before.
Demons from what he understood were just the name given to those from the Zeldenia continent. When it was originally discovered the harsh landscape and roaming ferocious beasts made people think they’d found hell itself so of course those who lived there must be demons right?
Well that was the logic anyways and the name kinda stuck. It didn't help either that the continent ended up being a dumping ground down the road for heinous criminals so the name “Demon” never had a chance of being ditched. Obviously It's seen as rude to call them Demons and it's preferred that you call them by their tribe name but if you didn't know you didn't know right?
Most demons looked like humans, almost exactly the same actually with maybe a few odd differences. Pointy ears, Weird hair colors, stuff like that. The guy with Green Hair and jet black skin Kanashi had fought in Albur for example was a demon. Julius could tell he was a Dreadnought tribe member but Kanashi, much like the average person, has no idea how to differentiate most tribes from one another.
Since demons are able to cross breed with humans who can cross breed with each other any sense of the original demon tribes are long gone. Some people claim to be 100% of a certain tribe but it’s highly unlikely because of said cross breeding. Those people generally are laughed at and made fun of but there’s a real growing population of those Demon folk who are wanting to force “Purity” among tribes. But this belief is only an issue in their home land and in other countries it has yet to even gain a small following.
Anyways Kanashi saw a few demons who were probably each from different tribes. One was a young skinny boy who had a slight bluish skin tone and short forked tail. Another man had small goat horns and little wings coming out from his back. It was pretty cool actually since Demons were rare in Saharis which was typically anti-immigration. It wasn't that no one was allowed to immigrate to Saharis, more that it was just super hard to get into. And few people did want to immigrate there solely because of the environment. If you weren’t born there then you werent gonna survive the summer or whatever the saying was.
Aufrenthos on the other hand was a massive melding pot of all different races and species. This led to its own problems but it was one of the only places in the world where you could see so many different kinds of people interacting on a daily basis.
As they reached the port of Ruperta Kanashi saw the Cymba in all its wooden glory. It was a decent sized ship, not too big, not too little, probably about a thousand or so people could fit on board with some room to spare. The line ahead of them was long and full of odd people again like most of Afurenthos so maybe it wasn't so odd after all. Well Albur and Neruft were pretty human orientated but that's also because they’re pretty backwater towns.
As Kanashi and Jin got in line, Kanashi nervously gripped his suitcase's handle, inside of it was not much, just some clothes and other normal things, or at least that’s what you’d think. It was actually an enchanted suitcase which had about a car's trunk sized amount of room under a hidden hatch at the bottom. Jin gave some convoluted explanation about how it worked exactly which Kanashi didn't understand a word of so he just thought of it as “Magic” and called it a day. Normally he’d want to understand but after being drilled by El-Saber and Hayai for 3 days straight about various things that had to do with espionage he was tired of being told anything.
Inside of the trunk sized space were some odd magical items the most important of which being the Way Point marker which looked like a large stamp on a ring. When you pressed it up against something and charged it with your mana it would print out a small circle with many runes on it onto wherever you had placed it. Using this Jin could warp the Venator Societies forces into Edoland instantly.
“Alright so you remember your name and backstory right?” Jin asked with a whisper.
“Yeah, I’m Kanashi Salamance from Sulcata and am on a world wide vacation over summer break.
“Perfect.” Jin said, slapping Kanashi on the back.
Sulcata was south of Azhar on the shore of Saharis, this would be a way to explain Kanashis accent and appearance without having to come up with some convoluted explanation. Well he didn't look much like a Saharis native because of his pale skin but he didn't spend much time outside so he never got those sweet UV rays printed on him.
The line was moving surprisingly fast despite only having one person checking cargo. He must have been very efficient at his job because Kanashi was getting closer and closer to the front of the line every second that passed.
As Kanashi thought of how close he was in line to being next his stomach cramped, it was a familiar feeling. One like you were gonna shit and vomit at the same time at any second. But no matter how many times you went to the bathroom nothing would happen. The dreaded feeling known as “Anxiety.”
Then it was his turn.
“Next!” The luggage inspector called out in an angry deep voice.
“Good luck!” Jin said, pushing Kanashi forwards who stumbled into the inspection table.
“Name and ticket.” The man said with an annoyed frown.
“Kanashi Salamence.” Kanashi said passing his ticket to the man who inspected it closely. He whispered something into the microphone on his shirt and then opened up Kanashis bag. He flipped through his belongings rather roughly which Kanashi wanted to complain about but bit his tongue.
“All clear.” The man said, snapping the suit case closed and tossing it to Kanashi.
Kanashi turned around to wave farewell to Jin but he was already gone. He wasn’t looking for Jin exactly either but who Jin had disguised himself as.
Of course if Jinen Lutece Pillar God Of Magic was seen with Kanashi it’d be a dead giveaway so instead he’d taken the appearance of a fat man in his mid 40s with a large bald spot. He wasn't too happy about the choice of appearance but Hayai said that’s all they had so he went along with it. That magic Kanashi understood. It didn't actually change his appearance but applied a barrier around him which was imbued with illusion magic. Anyone who was skilled enough at observation would be able to see through the disguise but as Jin being its wielder it was highly doubtful anyone could see his true form.
With a sigh Kanashi boarded the ship. Its little entrance hall area was rather nice with some carved wooden vinyl on the baseboards and lavish paintings hung on the walls much like Jin's mansion. It smelled really good too, like strawberry pastries and other breakfast items which made Kanashis stomach rumble.
“I’ll for sure eat as much as I can once I get my stuff in my room.” He muttered starting his trek down the many long endless hallways.
His room was supposed to be on the third floor and numbered forty four but he couldn't find his way there at all no matter which way he went. He somehow ended up on floor 2B and floor four before finally finding the third floor. The rooms on the third floor started with number 368. Using what he thought would be common sense he followed the path which had the room numbers decreasing as you walked further down. But that stopped at room number 280 so he turned around and tried the next path which this time ended at 200.
At this point Kanashi was visibly stressed and a kind older couple taking the hint came up and informed him that he needed to use the opposite stairwell to which he came up from to find his room. Kanashi of course thought this was very ass backwards but he was happy to finally know where to go and thanked the couple profusely.
After walking back down the staircase and getting lost again he finally found his way to the third floor and room forty four. He quickly opened the door, nearly breaking it off its hinges and stumbled into its dark contents. When he switched the light on he was pleasantly surprised at its interior. It was small, much like a studio apartment with a bed in one corner and a bathroom/ washroom in the other. There was a coffee maker and microwave on one side along with a mini fridge which he checked the contents of to find it stocked full of snacks and candy. He was tempted to just eat those but when he saw the ridiculous price tag which was three times the standard price he decided to bear through his hunger until he could eat breakfast. Actually it must have now been lunch since he’d spent about two hours trying to find his room.
Who designed this thing anyways? They needed to be fired and go back to school. Kanashi thought with a hiss. Well there's nothing he could do about it, so no use in complaining.
Kanashi threw his suitcase on top of the small dresser/desk he’d been given and began to unpack his clothes, putting them into the dressers drawers and the closet. After finishing all that he inspected his room for any potential hidden cameras since he’d heard horror stories about that before. Not like he was going to do anything worth being recorded but the idea of it made his stomach hurt again so he did it just in case.
Coming to the conclusion that his room was in fact camera safe he quickly used the bathroom and headed out into the ship's hallways once again. They had yet to set sail and probably wouldnt for another hour, so Kanashi didn't see a point in going on the deck yet. Instead he decided to explore the ship's interior using the map provided in his room.
Why the hell didn’t they give me this at the start!? He thought with a large frown as he marched down the hallways.
First was to find the cafeteria, the map made things a million times easier to navigate, he made his way through the labyrinth to the boss room where his prize was waiting, a bunch of food that smelled great and was priced way too high. But he didn't care his stomach was rumbling loud enough that people looked at him with a raised eyebrow and dogs growled back in response.
“Hmm, I’m thinking of something basic in case I get sea sick…” He muttered checking the kitchen's menu. The cafeteria had a self-serve bar sorta like a buffet, but this was just the mess hall type area according to the map. There was a restaurant on the upper deck but Kanashi wanted quick food so this was good enough for now. Also if this place was pricey then upstairs must have been even worse.
$300 for some lobster eyelids and snail testicles? No thanks.
After deciding on a cheese burger and some fries he paid his bill which was a whopping $13. Over double what he normally would have paid if he went to a normal fast food place! Still he bought it and sat down at an empty table, his heart and wallet both crying out in pain. Well not so much his wallet since he had a decent amount of money saved up but still. $13 for a cheese burger and fries?
What has the world come to!?
Sitting at an empty table in a cafeteria of people brought back a lot of memories from public schooling. Not pleasant ones mind you but memories nonetheless. He’d often sit by himself reading manga or a novel and then after he finished eating go hang out in the library playing on the public computer.
Normally the computers blocked most games and websites that he wanted to use but it was a simple thing to get around. With a Floppy disk stick that could install a proxy he could get around those blocks no problem. Being good at computers was pretty fun during a time when everyone else thought they were rocket science to configure. He’d even managed to cancel a few classes by simply disabling the ethernet port on a teacher's computer which earned him some street cred until someone snitched and he got suspended for it. After that he wasn't allowed to sit near the teachers desk and was relegated to the back of the class room which had its own perks.
Well those memories aside, Kanashi observed those coming in and out of the cafeteria, specifically their aura. There were a few people who seemed to have a more controlled aura then others but not to the extent they could actually use magic. More like they had some innate potential they were using unknowingly.
Then someone of interest walked in, someone different than the others. A woman, she was young but older than Kanashi, probably the same age as Julius and had shoulder length black hair with a black turtleneck.
Her aura was controlled, and fluid. It was also obvious she was suppressing it to some extent but not enough that you couldn't tell if you were looking out for her.
Kanashi watched her closely, she seemed to pick out some food and then argue over the price with the poor cashier who looked to be on the verge of tears before giving in and taking the total cost down a bit.
Wish I woulda thought of that… Kanashi thought while feeling his still plenty full wallet ache in his pocket.
The girl seemed proud of herself and took a seat at a table with a lone man seated there. The man was pale and gaunt wearing a leather cap the kind without the front bill part. He was smoking a cigarette which was really bad manners.
Come on dude this isn’t the 70s anymore where that stuff is cool.
The women of interest began to talk the man's ear off and he nodded his head regularly but was clearly not listening to anything she said. She kept blabbering on and on to the point that Kanashi got sick of it and he couldn't even hear her from where he was.
Deciding she wasn't a threat at the moment he got up to throw away his trash and placed his empty plate onto the small dishes rack before heading back out into the ship's many hallways.
At some point in the past hour the ship had begun to set sail and was making its way across the ocean to Edoland at last. Kanashi went up to the deck for a bit to look around and watched the water.
I hope I get to see a Mosasaur or something… He thought while kicking a rock off the deck into the water. He marched around the ships deck some more and checked out all the entertainment offered which amounted to a tennis court, overcrowded swimming pool and shuffleboard. But none of those suited his interest so he headed back down into the ship's interior. Not ready to give up and lay bored in his room he decided to inspect the Ships public Gym which was full of little kids playing with the equipment in a very unsafe way.
“Well not my job…” He muttered turning around and continuing his adventure but at that point he’d seen everything he wanted to see except for the ship's lowest level.
That was where the Griffon was supposed to be. He planned on waiting at least till one of the last days to actually do something about the Griffon but he just wanted to see it first. I mean it’s a Griffon! He’d only seen them in books and old tv programs. It was a lot of people's dream to one day see a Griffon in person and there was one right here on this ship where he was! It must have been fate!
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
But I must resist the temptation! Kanashi thought, barely managing to hold himself back. With a defeated sigh he walked back into his room which he thankfully remembered the path to. Once inside he flipped on the small tube TV and flicked around the many channels looking for anything interesting to watch but found nothing.
“Guhhh.” He groaned, turning the TV off and leaning back on his bed. Two weeks huh? “This is gonna suck…” He muttered, closing his eyes.
# # #
Satoshi stood on the ship's deck as the passengers boarded, he silently watched each person who had their items inspected and then got on the ship finding them to be of no interest. That is until two people appeared. One was young, a few years his junior and the other a fat man with balding hair. The fat man was absolutely normal by all means besides his appearance but the boy struck a nerve within Satoshi.
He was different, different then anyone he’d ever seen before the way his aura radiated and writhed around, the only way to describe it was “Death Defying.” And for some reason that just made Satoshi sick to his stomach and full of excitement at the same time. He clutched the deck's metal railing, squeezing it tight enough to where it crinkled under his strength like an empty soda can.
Satoshi was on the shorter side, he had spiky black hair and narrow sharp eyes which signified his Edoland origin. Despite his size he was muscular, though not a hulking type he was similar to Jin being lean with alot of muscle definition. But unlike Jinen he had as many scars as muscles, Not on his face though not a single one was one his face which looked like that of a young boy. Instead they covered his lower body small ones large ones scars of every size and shape. Some looked like simple scrapes while others looked like he’d been shot by a gun multiple times. He was not normally looking by any means and because of that the passengers on board avoided him so he was alone.
Or rather almost alone, standing behind him and leaning on a wall was another man from Edoland. One with a large scar across his face. This man was Kuramo, Satoshis business associate. Well maybe business wasn't the correct word since he was a Yakuza member.
“What’s got you so excited?” Kuramo asked with a snort, tossing his cigarette on the ship's deck and stomping it out.
“There’s someone down there I want to meet…” Satoshi answered without taking his eyes off the boy below.
“Well don't, we can’t risk blowing this job. It’s worth too much to throw away for personal desires.”
“...”
Satoshi didn’t respond, instead he kept staring at the boy who had begun to board the ship after having his things checked. He seemed normal in every way except that aura of his and Satoshi couldn't understand why…
“!”
Just then as the boy entered the ship it felt as though a bullet had hit Satoshi in the chest, not the pain of being shot but the surprising jolt of it. Satoshi felt his hands tremble uncontrollably and he looked to where that bullet-like feeling had come from. The fat bald man from before was looking directly at Satoshi, with blood eyes red that screamed danger. This man was absolutely not ordinary. He was a monster in human flesh. Satoshi couldn't move no matter how hard he fought his body to just wiggle a finger or even blink. The man's gaze overpowered him completely. After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a few seconds the fat man turned his head and walked back into the crowd in which he vanished from.
What was that? Satoshi wondered, clutching his shirt which was soaking wet with sweat. Never in his life had he felt that kind of sensation, not even when he’d watched his clan be massacred, did he feel even a percentage of that pure fear and weakness.
“What’s up with you?” Kuramo asked with a smile, which Satoshi frowned at.
“Nothing.” He said putting his hands in his pocket and walking across the deck towards the staircase that led down below. Kuramo followed him silently and the two of them made their way down the ship's interior and into the lowest level where another half a dozen men were waiting.
“That was a long pisss Satossshi.” One of them said as Satoshi entered the room. He spoke with a lisp and had a very snake-like face with slanted eyes and a flat nose.
“I lied.” Satoshi said paying no head and taking a seat on one of the empty couches.
“Lying isnt a thing to brag about…” Another one of the men said, he was tall and wide with a neck about as thick as his shoulders were wide.
“You should know he’s like that by now.” Kuramo said with a sigh, he leaned back up against the wooden wall behind him and let out another sigh, lighting up his second cigarette.
“Ahem!” One of the men coughed to get everyone's attention. “Well then, we’re at the final part of our voyage so we just need to keep it up until we get back home.” This man was their boss for the duration of the Job. He had a wrinkled face with square eyes and an old styled pompadour. His name was Kensuke.
“I just want to go home already and spend a night with some ladies.” The man with a wide neck said blushing.
“This is why you’re always broke Kudebu…” Kuramo muttered looking at him and raising one eyebrow.
“Hey, Boss Kuroyama gives a discount so why not use it?” The fifth man said. He had spiky blonde hair and big innocent green eyes, this was Gemuji.
“Just get yourself a real woman at this point, Kudebu.” Kensuke said, taking a seat on one of the couches and starting flipping through a porno magazine without a hint of shame.
“But then you’ve gotta care about their feelings and stuff! With prostitutes I just get to have fun and then say goodbye!”
“Well it’d cost a lot less to just have a lady at home.” Kuramo argued.
“Can we talk about something all of us can relate to?” The snake-faced man said with a scowl.
“Sorry you’re such a loser Jyaken.” Kensuke said with a laugh to which Jyaken the snake-faced man scowled even harder at, to the point his face was bright red.
“Hey Satoshi, why don't you ever join us?” Kudebu said turning to Satoshi was silently watching them.
“I’m here for a job and nothing more.” Satoshi said without a hint of emotion.
“Wow, who let you on this team?” Kensuke snorted, rolling up his magazine and tossing it at Satoshi who smacked it away.
“Satoshi found himself a crush so he’s all worked up right now.” Kuramo laughed.
“Oh, really now?” Kensuke asked while walking over to Satoshi and putting his arm over his shoulder. “Who’s this pretty lady that’s gotten your frozen heart to melt?” He asked, squeezing Satoshis shoulder.
“It’s a dude!” Kuramo cackled to which the group joined him.
“....”
Satoshi sat with an emotionless face simply staring at the floor in front of him when suddenly…
SLICE
The sound rattled throughout the room as blood sprayed and silenced everyone's laughter.
“Ahh you son of a bitch!” Kensuke yelled, stumbling backwards and grabbing onto this arm which was spraying out blood. There was a large gash around the middle bicep that stopped right at the bone.
“Sorry I meant to take the whole thing off.” Satoshi smiled with squinted eyes.
“Let me know if we’re pissing you off before you go ahead and start mutilating people!” Kensuke growled as Kudebu applied healing magic to his arm.
“Like I said before, I'm here to work. If you want to play like your friends and joke around feel free to do so but don't drag me into it.” Satoshi laughed leaning back with his hands behind his head.
“Tch, you should really grow out of your Chunibyo shit. It stops being funny once you’re an adult.” Kensuke spat, turning around and storming out of the room into his office.
“.....”
“Satoshi, you shouldn't just start attacking people.” Kuramo said after a short silence.
“Yeah you're right, my bad, I’ll make sure to apologize when I see him later.” Satoshi sighed, closing his eyes.
The scary thing about this situation was not that Satoshi had cut Kensuke, it was that none of them saw it happen. One second everything was fine and the next Kensuke's arm sprayed blood. Satoshi was new, this was their first time working with him so they had no idea what his magic entailed and he seemed like a loose cannon.
Maybe it’s best to take him out soon… They all thought as Satoshi laid with his eyes closed and free of worry.
# # #
Kanashi heard a knock at his door, he quickly jumped out of his bed and walked over to the peephole. Outside of it was a woman, one he didn't know. Wait no, she looked familiar… It was the women who haggled in the cafeteria even though the prices were set in stone.
Kanashi almost didn't want to open his door and thought of just pretending he wasn't home. This woman might try to haggle him out of his room or possessions and do it in a way to where he gives in before even knowing what is happening. What a scary situation.
“Do you hear the roosters' morning call?” The woman asked, knocking on the door again.
What the hell? Kanashi wondered, cocking his head back and scowling. Was this woman nuts? Of course he didn’t hear any roosters calling. There were no roosters on this ship to his knowledge and most definitely not one close enough for him to hear it calling.
But feeling as though this was something important he braced himself and opened the door to the women who stood there looking up at him with a scowl of her own to match Kanashis.
“What’s that look for?” Kanashi asked, peeking his head out the cracked door.
“I could ask you the same…” The women said in a sassy tone which only agitated Kanashis more.
On second thought no, screw her.
Kanashi pulled his head back into his room and shut the door and locked it. The lady banged on the door yelling something but Kanashi turned the TV on full volume to drown her out and laid in his bed going back to reading the novel he had recently started.
After some time the women gave up and left so Kanashi turned the TV down quite a bit, he didn't want the neighbors complaining on his first day afterall. But still what was that womens problem? He felt like he remembered something important about her that would give a hint as to why she would seek him out but the only thing he could recall was her smile as the poor cafeteria worker looked to be on the verge of tears taking her orders price down.
What a sick woman, people like that don't think of the middle men they’re stepping on. He thought with a frown.
# # #
Kanashis eyes shot open, the sunlight came in through his room's window illuminating his doorway which had a sinister aura coming from it.
What the hell is this feeling? It’s like there’s someone outside my room wanting to murder me… He thought with a shudder. He looked around his room seeing nothing of note and then slowly climbed out his bed, he was wearing nothing but a T-Shirt and his boxers. He ever so quietly put on the pair of shorts he’d been wearing the day before and crept up to the doors peephole trying to make as little noise as possible.
When he looked out the peephole he saw… nothing, there was no one there and that sinister aura was gone. Confused, he opened his door and peaked out around the hallway with only his head exposed. In his right hand he charged a full force [HellStorm] in case anyone tried to get the jump on him but he saw no one.
Did they run off and hide? Was it just me having sleep paralysis? No, I've never had sleep paralysis before and I was able to move.
“!” Then as if a light bulb appeared above Kanashis head he remembered the women from the day before.
“The magic user!” Wait, magic user? He had forgotten completely about that when she arrived yesterday and knocked on his door. Well he wasn't suppressing himself the best so anyone who wanted to see his aura probably could but still for her to find him…
If I see her in the cafeteria I’ll be sure to speak with her… after she’s haggled that is. I don't want to be on bad terms with the ones making my food.
With that decided, Kanashi quickly changed into this day's proper set of clothes. A dark blue t-shirt with a yellow trident on the front and some black shorts. As he finished up his morning routine and locked his room door he began his journey to the cafeteria. Along the way nothing of note happened, just some kids running around and playing or some newly weds rudely getting intimate in the middle of the hallway which Kanashi had to slide around.
Don't go showing off! He yelled internally, he didn't want to pick a fight but this guy was asking for it.
After that Kanashi found himself inside the cafeteria, the aroma in the air was pleasant. Yes, like that of thick fluffy golden French toast with caramel syrup, the best of the best!
“There you are!” Someone yelled out and Kanashi quickly turned around ready to defend himself but saw it was just a mom yelling at her kids who must have been running wild around the boat.
“Hmmm.” He hummed with a placid expression. “Well I guess it’s time to eat!” He yelled out and everyone in the cafeteria turned to look at him with a questioning gaze.
Woops...
Kanashi picked out his breakfast which cost him a total of $15! He almost cried when the register wrung up his amount due. Maybe that woman from before wasn't so evil after all.
Speaking of which, Kanashi looked around for that woman and her partner with the leather cap but didn't see them anywhere.
He tried to sit where they had sat the day before planning to say something like “Oh wow sorry I didn't realize this was your seat. Hey, what was yesterday about?” Yeah, super smooth he was gonna nail it.
Well he didn’t get a chance to try that line because they never showed up. It wasn't until some kids asked Kanashi if he was homeless that he decided to head out to the top deck.
Homeless? Why would I be on a boat if I was homeless huh? I mean yeah I was just hanging out even after I ate my food but that’s normal right? I wasn't sleeping or anything like that!
As Kanashi reached the top deck he looked out at the bright blue water. Small birds and flying reptiles fought over the fish in the waters below. The ocean was truly a breathtaking sight to those who live in the middle of a desert. Well technically an oasis since Azhar was right on the edge of a massive lake. But the ocean just had such a better vibe to it, it was truly alive.
Well what should I do about that lady and her man? I don't think they were necessarily bad but well… I don't know, she was kinda nasty but some people are like that. She seemed super happy talking to the hat wearing guy yesterday so she must just be a Tsundere. The worst dere archetype. Even Yandere are better, of course Kuundere and Dandere are the best but those rarely appear in our world so it’s a bust. Well I shouldn't expect them to be my enemies because if they were they’d have tried something already. But that presence this morning was worrying. Maybe it was just my imagination or a dream but if that was them then they are for sure my enemy. I’ll have to make sure to get a feel for her aura when we next meet so I can compare it to that one this morning. Well if it's not her then that means there’s someone else who views me as an enemy and this one I don't know the identity of and in that case if she is also my enemy it’d be a 2v1. I can barely win a 1v1 so I’d be really screwed. Hmm what did Shu-Tau say about this kind of situation? Always attack first when you expect an attack? Well maybe if you know who your enemy is yeah that’s good advice but for me right now to just attack them I could cause more issues then it might fix.
As Kanashi sat there on the deck thinking he heard a crashing noise, like the sound of glass shattering and a yelp.
“Watch where you’re going ya little rat!” A man screamed out at a kid who was below him. The man had a large scar across his face and a heavy brow. He looked to be from Edoland by the way his accent sounded and his eyes.
The kid below him was shivering with nothing but pure terror in their face, they honestly looked like they might just piss themselves then and there if he took a step towards them. Below them was what looked like a plate that had shattered with some cookies on it.
Perfectly good cookies just wasted… Kanashi thought with a frown. It was almost lunch time now wasn't it? Well cookies isnt a good lunch by any means so he’d have to hold himself back for now.
“I’m sorry…” The kid muttered.
“Ya better be, I’ll cut your little balls off if you come near me again!” The man growled, spitting everywhere.
“Hold it!” A woman's voice yelled out, Kanashi, the kid and the Edo man all looked at the women whose voice those words had come from. She had short black hair about shoulder length with narrowed eyes and a furrowed brow. Her top was a turtle neck with a heart shaped opening that revealed her collarbone and some cleavage. Below that was a pair of dark blue jeans. The woman who Kanashi had been looking for appeared.
“What'd ya want broad?” The Edoman asked with a frown.
“Who are you calling a broad!?” The women screamed with a tone of utter authority. Kanashi wasn't even the one in trouble here yet he was ready to strip naked and perform a perfect Dogeza in her direction.
“Ah, you’re right my bad I shouldn't talk to people like that. I’m sorry I’m just not in a great mood ya know?” The Edo man said with a defeated sigh.
“Well as long as you recognize you’re the one in the wrong then it’s perfectly fine!” The woman said with a proud smile.
He clearly just doesn't want to have anything to do with you… Kanashi thought with a frown, this woman was draining him of energy just by being within viewing distance.
“And you!” The woman said, turning to Kanashi whose eyes widened in surprise.
“Me?” He squeaked out pointing to his own face.
“Yeah who else would I be talking to!?”
“I dont know…”
“Then why even ask? Are you trying to piss me off?”
Looks like you’re doing that yourself. Kanashi thought turning around and walking away, he’d had it with this woman. He wasn't going to subject himself to her anymore; she could be his enemy for all he cared in fact she already was as far as he was concerned.
“Hey I’m talking to you!” The woman chased after Kanashi who broke into a sprint on the deck trying to avoid her. But she was fast, clearly someone used to running and for a long distance because she was easily keeping pace with him and Kanashi was pouring all his aura into his legs to run faster.
"!"
Suddenly a door swung open right in front of Kanashi. A door which he slammed into at mach speed with a loud crash.
“Ughhh.” He groaned, falling back onto his ass and looking up dazed.
“My bad.” The man coming out of the door said, it was the man with the leather cap who the tsundere had been talking with the day before.
“There you are Jason! Catch that kid!” The women yelled out catching up to Kanashi.
The man Jason without hesitation or question reached out to grab Kanashi who managed to slip through his grasp like a snake, Kanashi turned around to meet the Tsundere women who blocked his path.
He had three choices, either try to climb on top of the building they were standing by and escape that way, break past the man Jason or break past this woman. Weighing his options he decided to break past the women since she was smaller then Jason who had a wider reach.
Kanashi bolted towards the woman who threw up her arms as if to block a strike but Kanashi fell to his bottom and slid between her legs. He then got up to run but felt all his weight transfer to the front of his body and he slammed down onto the floor face first.
“!?” Why is my head so heavy suddenly!? He wondered while trying to move his neck but couldn't.
“Phew, he nearly got away.” The woman said. She was holding Kanashi by his foot and Jason approached her with a confused look and sigh.
“This is the one Rebecca?” He asked full of doubt.
“Yeah! Didn't you see him using enhancement to run over there?!” The woman Rebecca asked with a scowl.
“I was simply leaving the bathroom when he slammed into the door as I opened it so I had no time to watch him do anything.”
“Hmm, fair point.” Rebecca nodded her head, “Well then Mr. Magic boy, why don't we have a talk?” She asked turning to Kanashi who lay on the ship's deck face first.