In the middle of a glass chamber was a Tachi, much like the one he still carried. It seemed to be made of pure gold, as it brightly shone. Obviously, it was the sword he used to kill Gluttony.
It vibrated softly.
"Yes," Dr. Cretin said, popping up behind Danny's shoulder. Danny jumped in shock, letting out a weird sound. "I'm sorry for surprising you, but it's been doing that for a while."
"It looks different," Leo observed. Danny agreed, after looking at it more. There was less of a golden sheen than what he remembered.
Dr. Cretin nodded, as he walked towards the sword. "Yes, it lost a bit of the gold. But, we have no idea how it happened. Or why." He shrugged his shoulders. "I would love to observe him holding it." He nodded towards Danny. Danny shivered because of his look of interest.
Dr. Cretin moved forward, opening the closed glass enclosure. Then, Danny was pushed in, with him locking the door after. Danny couldn't hear Leo's words, although he watched his mouth open and close, as if forming sentences.
Danny's hand twitched, minutely at first. Soon, it turned into cramps of the hand that pulled him. He was holding the sword before he even realised.
It glowed, softly, as if seeing an old friend. Danny smiled, feeling most of his tension fall off his shoulders. It felt nice.
"Now," a voice said, filling the room, "Swing the sword." It was Dr. Cretin's voice, coming from a speaker in the corner of the room.
Danny obliged. Then, again, and again, and again. It felt fun to him, swinging the sword around. And he would've continued for longer if the glass didn't suddenly explode, leaving a mark on the wall.
Danny blinked, as he couldn't understand what happened.
"What was that?" Leo asked, though he seemed more shocked than anything. Dr. Cretin, however, looked at him with a wide smile and glittering eyes.
"I wonder how it worked!" he said, bouncing around. He felt around the hole with intrigue, as his hands even poked through the hole. "It's quite deep. Can you do it again?"
Danny shook his head. Whatever he did, it seemed to be quite draining, as his thoughts slowed.
"Let's stop it here," Leo intervened, stopping Dr. Cretin from approaching Danny. "I brought him here to feel better, not look even more tired. Plus, you haven't slept for a while, right, Cretin?"
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Dr. Cretin appeared to be considering it, although there was clear hesitation on his face. "Alright," he decided. "But, please, come back soon. I want a video."
Leo guided Danny out from the room.
Outside the building, Danny waved Leo goodbye.
"It's best if you come at least a week," Leo said. "So Cretin doesn't try and take you."
Danny nodded, too tired to open his mouth.
Tired as he was, he refused to go to sleep. Instead, he headed towards the training rooms, where he ignored the people around him.
He walked to the isolation rooms, which made you practise on your own. For most people, this could either hasten or slow down the rate of training.
But Danny didn't care about that. What he cared about was for less people to see him, partly for the embarrassment.
He was only using the training sword he still carried, as his actual sword was still being researched. Still, the training sword was enough.
Arthur looked at the clock, frowning. It was past midnight, yet August still hadn't returned. He couldn't say it was too unusual, as he didn't know the man. But, it felt lonely. He didn't feel like yelling at his screen over the fact he lost.
Still, there was something. He sighed, turning off his PC. He held the pendant he secretly wore at all times, opening a secret compartment that held a photo.
It was of two children; him and a girl. She was a very tomboyish girl, with short hair that accentuated her blue eyes. It was taken many years ago, to the point he was sure she didn't remember him. But that didn't matter to him.
As long as he lived, he would help her. Granted, he would live forever, but still...
"Come back soon," he sighed, leaning against his chair, in the empty, quiet room. "My ticket."
The room went dark, as the PC fully turned off, except for the light that came in through the window. Arthur wistfully looked out, watching the stars glitter.
Danny woke up, stretching on his bed. Sometime after he was finished swinging, he made his way back. He remembered seeing the first light of the day, though he had another, larger worry: Food.
His stomach growled so loudly that it woke up Arthur, who had been sleeping on his moving chair.
"What was that?" he called, standing up quickly. He got into a fighting position, before noticing where it came from. "Oh, just get some food. Don't wake me up, you lowly being."
"Stop speaking like that," Danny retorted, getting out of bed. "And I was planning on that, already."
The doorbell went, drawing both of their gazes. "I've got a couple packages for August Reginald VI," a voice said, from the other side of the door. "Seriously, who names their kids the 'something or other'. Like, you're already being pretentious enough just having enough authority to do it."
His grumbles could be heard from the other side of the door. The two looked at each other, speechless. Everyone knew the Emperor's family, and nearly all those related to it.
But this guy acted like he didn't know.
Danny walked to the door, opening it after hearing him walk away. He was still speechless after what happened.
Danny looked to either side of the door, seeing two small boxes, made out of a plastic material. They were stacked on top of each other, with the smaller being on top.
He held the bottom one, gauging its weight. It seemed to be fairly light, as he could easily lift it.
Then, he brought it into the room.