And so, with the addition of our newest queer member Sandy to the travel team, we had checked off the second World Wonder of seven before immediately setting our sights on the third. Flying over to Brazil, we had to all somehow fit on the airbike because the hoverboard just wasn't going to fly high enough to avoid the dense rainforest below.
"Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro..." Issei disinterestedly sang, "Neiro, neiro, neiro, neiro, neiro..."
"Whoa, what's that song? It's catchy!" Freddy overenthusiastically replied, "Real catchy! Especially the "Neiro, neiro" part!"
"You think it'll be a hit in Europe?"
"Totally! Hey, we should form a band!"
These two, are they referencing something again? They tend to do that a lot, the geeks... Either way, I at least don't feel as left out now that we have Sandy with us, cause it seems she's just as confused on the topic of the conversation as I am. It feels refreshing, like I'm finally proven to not be the crazy one of the group after so long.
"Why do you two look like you just saw Jesus telling you to kill the president of America?" Issei glanced at us through the rearview mirror.
"President of America?" Sandy cocked her head back.
"Jesus?" I followed suit, "Wait, now I remember. That's that God's son guy, right? The fake one?"
"Hey hey, what's this about fake?" She immediately got offended, "God is very much real, and the love of our Lord and Savior is all-encompassing."
"Hoo boy, don't tell me you're the hyper religious type, Sandy..." Freddy sounded yucked out, "Nah, you gotta be kidding here."
"And if I am?" She refuted defiantly, "You guys ought to read the Bible at least once in your lives. It's the least a Christian can do."
"I'm Buddhist though." Issei replied, "Naturally, the same can be said for uncle's case."
"I'm..." I thought hard about what to introduce my religion as before settling for a safe bet, "A pantheist."
"Can't even choose one of the Gods, so you just pick all of them?" She clicked her tongue in disgust at me, "You do realize that's the same as not believing in any of them, right? There's a reason every religion introduces their God as the one and only."
"Fine, then if we're being technical, I'm a born Prylosic."
Admittedly, that was a bad move on my end. I got a bit too angry at her for calling me out, so I just ended up stating the truth, even though she has no idea I'm not actually from this world. Issei and Freddy know though, and they were panicking - Hard. An awkward air of silence engulfed the entire moment as we all waited for her reply. Waiting, waiting, waiting for the moment she said something to break the ice when finally...!
"Rio de Janeiro..." She slowly swung from side to side as she muttered the tune Issei sang previously, "Neiro, neiro, neiro... Damn, it really is catchy."
"Huh?" Issei turned to her, "Y-You're not gonna question what Lune said?"
"Nah, as long as England here picked out one God, I don't really care all that much." She shrugged it off, "People believe in all sorts of fake Gods though, so I'll admit I've never heard of that religion before."
Oi, Miss Hypocrite, didn't you say it's rude to call other people's Gods fake? Besides, this one's actually real. Like, literally, he exist and roams this world, just like we do. Dammit, if he hears this conversation he'll strike us down from the Heavens... Or maybe not, Prylos is the Meditation God, after all.
"Hey, speaking of Jesus...!" Sandy pointed yonder to the giant statue just in view, "There he is!"
"Whoa, that's one titan of a statue!" I gawked.
"Yep, T-posing Jesus statue, as I call it." Issei smirked, "Hey, fun fact Lune, that's our next destination."
"No shot, that's the World Wonder!?"
"You... didn't know?" Sandy looked at me suspiciously.
"Can you blame him? These new World Wonders are called new for a reason." Freddy covered for me, "It gets difficult to remember them all at times, and besides, it's these two's first ever time traveling here."
"Ah, so you're their tour guide, Nyork? How surprisingly responsible."
"What the-! Nyork!?" Freddy jolted, "What kind of a horrible nickname is that!?"
"Well yeah, you said you grew up in New York, right? So... Nyork."
"She abbreviated mine to JP as well." Issei chimed in.
"Yeah, do why not call me NY, then?" Freddy reasoned.
"Cause that's not a good nickname." She plainly retorted.
"Then at least even it out by abbreviating Luneski's name too!"
"Nah, I don't mess with the English." She revealed some self-imposed rule before sticking her tongue out playfully, "Besides, you can't really abbreviate England to a good nickname either."
"Grrr...!"
And that's how we made it to our next stop on this world tour - Rio de Janeiro, home of this giant statue of Jesus Christ, as well as our third World Wonder. Unlike the previous two ones though, this is freaking massive in scale, if not mostly because it goes for height instead of area. The city below feels bustling as well, but it feels a lot more natural than the previous two towns we stopped at. It's like this place would have been popular even without the World Wonder. This statue is just the final strawberry on the cake, I guess.
"Ah, I just realized something." Issei winced.
"What's up?" I asked wearing all smiles.
"Before we can make it to the World Wonder, we're gonna have to land the airbike..." He gulped.
"Uhh, yeah? No duh, haha!" Sandy naively laughed at him, "JP's a real riot, isn't he England? E-Eh, England's crying!"
"Sniffle... S-Suddenly..." I said in between sobs, "It's as if all the pain of the previous landings had come back to haunt me one more time... I-Issei, can't we just jump off from here...?"
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"You idiots, stop it! You're not gonna make it from this high up!" Sandy stopped us from saving our balls, "And you, Nyork! Tell them off, don't just sit there nodding sympathetically! What's with you guys!?"
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"Whoa, careful little one." I smiled at the kids playing around in the streets, "This place is really lively. More so than any other place we've visited thus far."
"It's Brazil, can you blame them?" Freddy chuckled, "Unlike what the memes tell you, it's actually a super nice place to visit. The people are said to be the happiest bunch you'll find too."
"Are they now? It feels kinda cramped for me." Issei remained close.
Cramped is one way to put it, certainly, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either. In Japan, whose streets are nothing but tidy and orderly, it can feel a bit empty and lonely, which is reflected in the people's emotions there too. You'd never find kids running around full speed kicking a ball around you there, but over here is a different story entirely. Brazilians are already proving themselves to be a way more fun bunch in my Eyes, but that could just be my personal bias. It's like how I prefer the playful nature of Cardina way more than I do the prim and proper Entropa. There's just something about the location that affects the people acting within it, it seems.
"Hey, that guy there's shadowboxing." Sandy pointed to a crowd forming.
"Oh, a street performer! Haven't seen one of those in a while." Freddy smiled, "Let's go check it out, he seems like he knows his stuff!"
The tanned man with tied back hair was indeed showing off all sorts of kicks and punches, but...It was different than regular shadowboxing. Anyone whose ever fought could immediately tell that this style is something unique, but I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like he's almost dancing in a way, mocking his imaginary opponent before going in for an overly flashy yet strong kick to the face. It reminds me of Aaron's style of combat, even.
"Pssh, this guy's just dancing." Issei fell for the taunty nature, hook line and sinker, "It's cool and all, but he'd get clobbered in a real fight."
"Like you could beat him." I scoffed.
"I so could."
"But without gadgets, though."
"What? That's not fair." He clicked his tongue, "My gadgets ARE my fighting style. That'd be like disallowing him to use these flashy moves. It'd just defeat the purpose."
"Desculpe-me, amigo." The street performer glared angrily at Issei, "Are you saying you could go toe to toe with my capoeira?"
"Is that what it is?" Issei approached him and jeered, "Dude, no offense, but if I had my exoskeleton with me, you'd be sent-"
-flying, is what I imagine he wanted to say before he got sent flying himself. He easily flew backwards at least 10 meters or so before stopping, and it took him a while before he could get back up, albeit in a winded state. Usually I'd rush to help him out, but right now I'm more so confused by the crowd not being phased by a random bystander getting kicked by a streetperformer. Brazilians really don't care about that stuff, I guess. Ah, but I can't deny that kick looked cool...
"Khack! L-Lune..." Issei begged me to help him, "Materialize... backpack..."
"There's no way you still think you can fight him when you're like that. Just give up, dude." I felt bad for him, "Besides, I can't just Materialize all those complex gadgets of yours, idiot. I don't think anyone but you knows the blueprints for them."
"Tch, damn...!" Issei ran in with a newfound blind rage.
"Hup! And a one, two...!" The dancing fighter masterfully dodged the barrage of punches, weaving his upper body through each crack before countering with a frontflip heel kick, "And thus, your face is now on the ground! Jajajaja!"
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, as the three of us quickly made sure Issei was alright. While his face was still covered in mud, I used the opportunity to Heal him up to full health so no one could notice. Even still, I couldn't do anything about that humiliated frown he had on, that one's on him. Hey, quit looking at me like that, dummy! You're the one who provoked the mountain lion!
"Still think capoeira is not useful, amigo?" The performer stood in front of us.
"Dude, you could've kicked an object or something to prove yourself." I chewed him out.
"Yeah, I'll admit my nephew's words were stupid and rude, but you didn't have to beat him up over it." Freddy added as well.
"Eh, I dunno. It was pretty funny." Sandy stifled her laughter as Issei saw Red.
"People learn better through pain." The performer shrugged before kicking his hat filled with all the money he got that day to us, "But I understand. You are tourists, no? I should not have been so rough, in that case. Please, take my pay today as a sign of my sincerest apologies."
"I don't need your money!" Issei stared daggers at him, "I want a rematch, but this time with my stuff!"
"Oh, weapons are allowed? Then let me get my gun too." The guy joked, "Just kidding. The name's Juavez. Pleasure to meet you all.
"E-Eh? Likewise, I'm Issei..." He awkwardly replied, "Sigh, you pack a nasty kick, dude..."
"I'll say. Hey, teach me those moves, I'd really like to learn them!" I suggested, "Lune, by the way."
"Oh, so we're befriending him now?" Freddy chuckled, "I'm Fuuji, but just call me Freddy if that's too tough to remember."
"I swear, do all men just suddenly become best friends with othe men so easily?" Sandy sighed, "Seriously, you guys are crazy. This is why I prefer women..."