Hey welcome back my fellow readers! Before I start this chapter, note that this chapter is being typed as my internet has still gone to complete SHIT. I'm planning to switch internet services from AT&T, the fucking worst internet service to date, to Comcast, good and consistent connectivity with rare internet poops here and there, which AT&T seemed to forget, but expensive as fuck. Switching may take longer to restore my internet, but it'll be worth it. Why? Not only does AT&T affect my matches in FPS multiplayer games such as Rainbow Six Siege and Battlefield 4, but it restricts me from uploading new chapters. So far, I've finished making Ch. 11 for RWBY's FNS and the prologue for this story, A Fortune Hunter's Calling, and I've been waiting for the internet to restore so I can upload both of them, but sadly, it wasn't meant to be yet. On the bright side, it gives me more time to spend exercising and have fun with my friends and family! So good shit there. Now, before you start reading if you paid attention to the author's notes, I'd like to mention that the beginning part of this chapter is quite similar to Uncharted 3's beginning. I could've done something original, which I intended to do so when I first typed this chapter, but somehow it slowly converted into this remake of Uncharted 3's beginning chapter and I didn't realize that until halfway through the chapter. I was in the moment too so I wasn't completely aware of my writing. It was sorta automatic for me. So other than that, without further ado, let's get into this chapter….yo.
Chapter 1: The De(ception)al
It was 1 p.m. Usually, seventeen year old teenagers would be in school around this time, learning all there is to learn to support themselves for the future ahead. They would learn how to find the missing sides and angles to an right triangle or annotate an article found on the internet using a research database meant for researching certain controversial topics such as racial discrimination or abuse. They would learn how centripetal force worked or even learn how to make a website. There are some who would be loyal and honest about learning, taking it to a serious level for even further their success in the future working their dream job. Then there are those who wouldn't give a damn about school and own a mindset that yelled in the person's head that school was almost useless, the delinquents was a name many would like to call them. Finally, there were the types of teenagers were the middle man, the middle way in a sense. They wouldn't give much care about school, but they know the advantages school can give and the knowledge that it delivered. Ethan Drake was one such. Although he knew that learning was essential and the subjects taught there, at least some, were quite interesting, subjects such as algebra or physics never appealed to Drake in the slightest, hence why he'd rather not attend a school much to his guardian's dismay. But, a different topic arose from his mind.
History.
History would always send him looking for either treasure that would be worth around the same amount as the original Mona Lisa or some useless junk that was worth as much as a KitKat. With his luck, it was always the latter.
But nevertheless, he enjoyed the thrill of fortune hunting ever since he started at the age of fifteen, two years ago. It wasn't too long ago, but since Ethan spent most of his time, traveling the world, those two years felt like they were doubled by some supernatural activity. But Ethan spent those years well surrounded by fortune hunting. It wasn't just the parkour that he was able to do, he was able to do whenever he wanted to in the first place, it wasn't just the search, it was almost everything about it that made fortune hunting for him. Combined with the parkour and the mystery surrounding the adventure, the uniqueness of each location they travel to, the sightseeing, it was a whole adventure and to him, it was almost like a tourist attraction with free admission!
{—}
Currently, he and his friend and mentor, Ben Cadwell, came back from finding an artifact a client was looking for in exchange for money…well….yen really. As they walked inside a building that seemed to be a bar, everyone turned their eyes and looked straight at them. All of the people in the bar, even the bartender, looked as if they were threats. They ignored their strange looks and continued forward inside, but stayed tense. Everyone else continued to their own business, returning to their usual behavior. Ethan glanced at one of them. They looked scruffy and very yakuza-like, wearing a black leather jacket with a white design on the back. Under the jacket was a black tank top undershirt that slightly revealed a few chest tattoos. This man owned a very strange black mullet that looked like he stole it from the 1970s. Matching with his jacket, he wore dark blue jeans that bagged slightly and black boots. Half of the people here had a similar fashion design as the man Ethan glanced at. The young fortune hunter stifled a laugh directed at the man's ridiculous fashion sense. Thankfully, the loud noises and chatter overwhelmed his laughter. Obviously, they were in a gang probably out enjoying their life in a bar. But Ethan thought it was more likely that these gang members belonged to the client he and Ben were meeting to trade off the artifact in exchange for yen. As he and Ben continued into the bar, Ethan took in his surroundings.
The bar looked similar to every other bar Ben usually visited to buy a drink. Flashy lights and colors filled the atmosphere of the room. Everywhere Ethan looked, there was bound to be bright lighting that almost appealed to him. There was the usual wooden counter where the bartender treated those who sat by it while also cleaning the top. Behind the bartender was shelves of different types of alcohol such as whiskey, vodka, types of ale, classic sake accustomed here in Japan, and even wine with showcase lighting behind it, presenting the alcoholic beverages as if they were holy artifacts. Neon lights of green and blue decorated not only the counter, but also the entire bar. Some lights were on the walls and even on the floors that lead a trail. Ethan started to assume this was more like a nightclub than it was a bar. Most people sat on rows of tables that were screwed down to the floor with beer bottles and shots of whiskey while the others sat by the counter. Sounds of billiards balls slamming into each other was mixed in with the laughter and chat about topics these people around Ethan and Ben enjoyed. One of the billiards balls, the striped 2 ball, rolled its way into one of the sockets in the corners, which caused the man who was made that shot to grin. Glass mirrors with pink bamboo designs reflected the light of most lighting in the room, which barely blinded Ethan who faced away from the reflecting light now over towards Cadwell.
Back at the entrance of the bar, Ben almost seemed completely unfazed by their initial stares. His eyes only were directed towards the flight of stairs, assuming that was where the client was located. Ethan followed suit after taking in the environment around them. He quickly glanced at him before looking at the wooden flight of stairs. Ben Caldwell was a young twenty seven year old Caucasian man who had short brown hair. His dark blue long sleeved shirt was almost as similar of a color as the ocean in the glowing night sky. His jeans that were a mixture of white and black held his phone that was slightly making an outline on his pocket along with his wallet in the other pocket. He adorned his left wrist with a black watch that he bought cheaply at a thrift shop, which was were he also bought old black leather shoes. Actually, to Ethan's sudden realization, most of Ben's clothing in his closet back in his apartment complex were from a thrift shop that was a few blocks down the street.
Ethan and Ben, escaping the amount of gang members sat around the bar, walked up the stairs, which led to a dim hallway with doors on each side of the wall. The hallway was only lit with the neon lights they previously saw downstairs. At the end of the hallway, there was one door that was open slightly with light creeping through the narrow rectangular hole that the door itself only allowed. Without much thinking and quick assumption, they sauntered down the hallway and entered the room, giving notice to those who were in the room. Ethan looked around the room and the first thing he noticed was gang members positioned around the room, more so heavily around the client. The room seemed almost similar to the bar downstairs, excluding the counter, rows of tables, and pool table. Instead, this room's purpose seemed to be privately chatting with friends while enjoying a few drinks here and there. The only difference was that no one here were friends, it was merely a trade off. Nothing more, nothing less. At the far end facing the door was a cabinet of alcohol, which seemed looted of some of its contents and was rediscovered on the floor empty. Whiskey bottles and a puddle of spilled sake was found in one corner where a drunken gang member moved lethargically around that specific corner, singing a song that both Ethan and Ben were unfamiliar with, but it had similarities to a shanty. Some gang members laughed at his drunken act while some were slightly annoyed. Ben chuckled at the scene.
"Quite the party here huh Nagasawa?" Ben sarcastically asked in Japanese. The client, now known as Nagasawa, stood up from his chair, noticing the two and grabbed a black briefcase.
"Yes unfortunately, now let's proceed with the deal now that you and your protege have arrived." Nagasawa smiled, walking over to a central table where he set down the briefcase and laid it flat. Ben nodded in agreement and proceeded over to the table with Ethan following suit. "Let's see the artifact first before I show you the money." Both Ethan and Ben nodded and followed instruction. Ethan reached into his pocket and revealed the artifact in his hand, passing it over to Nagasawa. "Thank you, Mr…?"
"Drake. Mr. Drake." Ethan said. Nagasawa seemed surprised upon hearing his name.
"Drake? You wouldn't happen to be the son of Nathan Drake would you?"
"Yes, Nathan Drake is my father." Ethan said calmly. Nagasawa hummed in interest.
"Interesting." Was all he said before proceeding to verify the artifact.
The artifact seemed nothing more than a gold coin with no ancient significance that someone could've grabbed out of a old pile of treasure, despite it's worth for money. When Ethan found it somewhere in a temple hidden in Japan, he didn't really think much of the artifact, only that a client needed it for whatever reason for money. However, under close inspection using something similar to a magnifying glass, the gold coin showed it's true worth. The design seemed to date back to the Muromachi period with text outlining the edge of the coin. Nagasawa read the line of text inscribed into the side of the gold coin.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." He smiled, knowing the gold coin was valid as the ancient coin he sought for. "Well, a gem this one is… Alright, you've done your part of the deal. Here's your reward." Nagasawa opened the briefcase in front of him and revealed the stacks of yen. As if the yen were actual gold, it shined brightly as it reflected the light illuminating in room….metaphorically…
"Well would you look at that?" Ethan said. He was almost jaw dropped looking at the amount of money within the briefcase while Ben grinned and grabbed one of the stacks of yen. Nagasawa smiled as he put the gold coin into his pocket. "Enjoy your money boys….and thank you for the Shinpi. I'd best be off. I have some business to attend to." With the deal done and the money retrieved by the two fortune hunters, he sauntered out of the room with all of the gang members in the room following suit, leaving Ethan and Ben with the briefcase of banknotes.
{—}
"I can't believe we got this much Ben!"
"What did I tell you? This was worth going through that temple." After receiving the money from their client, the two traveled their way to their hotel room Ben bought prior to their arrival in Japan. The hotel room they rented was nowhere near similar to The Peninsula in Tokyo, but it was spacious. Not too big on a scale similar to the size of a master bedroom, but not too small where they could barely move ten feet away from the same spot. The living room was nothing more than two couches placed in front of a TV standing on top of a wooden cabinet that held DVDs. The contents within the DVDs however were something along the ratings of R to "this isn't a movie anymore, it's a sex tape". The television itself was fairly wide with a width of 28 inches, a height of 15.7 inches and a screen length of 32 inches. It was definitely not one of those old school televisions with the giant box in the back most cheap motels would set up in rooms, but instead a modern TV that was money well spent for the hotel. The aroma of old coffee originated from a coffee mug sitting on top of a wooden coffee table positioned between the couch and the TV set. The kitchen was directly right next to the living room. There was no doors or white walls restricting any other access inside the kitchen, both rooms were connected. The kitchen was also standard. An oven that still held a frying pan that smelled of recently cooked sunny side up eggs. Next to the oven was a mini fridge that was placed directly under a empty cabinet. The fridge stored mostly bottles of beer and some bottles of CocaCola chilled inside along with leftovers from a restaurant they recently ate at a couple days ago, which Ethan grabbed out and stuffed it into a microwave that was adjacent with the oven.
He also reached inside the fridge to grab two bottles, one that contained CocaCola, and other was Budweiser. Ethan ambled over to the living room, tossing the Budweiser to Ben and sat down on the other couch. He chuckled with joy.
"Cheers to our hard work and loads of fucking cash." Ethan said.
"Cheers!" Both glass bottles clinked upon contact and proceeded to chug some the delicious contents down their throats (AN: that sounded so wrong XD). They set down their bottles and faced the open briefcase sitting on the coffee table. Both smelled the horrible aroma of coffee as it lingered into their nostrils, but they could careless for their fortune was all within that briefcase.
"So." Ethan said, "What are we going to do with this much cash?" Ethan looked at Ben who looked taken aback by his comment.
"'What are we going to do?' Kid, we can do whatever we want with this amount of cash. Granted, we have to pay for the bills but other than that, we're fucking rich."
"By the way, you still haven't paid me back yet for that restaurant fiasco on Friday."
"You're still holding a grudge on that?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, I almost got arrested because you forgot your wallet back here."
"To be fair, that guy behind us shouldn't tried to hit you."
"But still, you forgot your wallet in your other pants."
"Kid, sometimes a man forgets some things in other pairs of pants."
Ethan chuckled, "Oh no, don't you start your speech! I remember when you last told me that speech, I fell asleep through half of it."
"Then don't fall asleep. It's as simple as that."
"When a guy starts telling you about how he left his wedding ring inside another pair of pants on the day of his marriage for the fiftieth time, you'd be already sleeping on your bed by the time he's halfway done."
Ben sighed and chuckled, "Just shut up and drink your CocaCola." Ethan grinned as he grabbed his bottle and took a few more sips of his drink.
"It's been a fun ride right?" asked Ethan. "Just us going on adventures like this. Even though you could be a bit of an asshole at times, I don't regret one bit of it."
"Yeah kid, there's never been a moment where I want a different life other than this one. Even though you sometimes could be a reckless dumbass, I hope our lives together never change."
Ethan reached for one of the stacks of yen. Like it was a rock, he tossed it into the air, falling back into his hand. However, he noticed something strange. As it fell in the air, he saw the bills slightly separate from each other due to air resistance. Light pierced through the shadows that were hiding the content of the bills in the middle. Since the number of the yen were placed on the very corners of the bill, with his sharp vision, instead of seeing a 10000 at the corner, he saw a number with fewer digits. As soon as he caught the stack of money, Ethan lifted up the first few yen bills. His eyes widened in shock.
The number that he saw was 1000 instead of 10000.
If he were to use Google and search up the conversion between the US dollar and the Japanese Yen, that 1000 yen was worth not even $10.
It was $8.
"Ben, take a look at this." Ethan tossed the stack of yen over to Ben. Listening to Ethan's disappointed tone, Ben was puzzled and he didn't like the sound of his tone. "Look in the middle of the stack." Ben did as instructed. He was greeted with the 1000 yen instead of the 10000 and was shocked, mouth agape. "We've been duped."
"What kind of bullshit is this?" Ben said, clearly upset by this discovery. "Check the rest! Nagasawa must've made a mistake." Ethan grabbed a couple of stacks of yen and checked each and every one, all of it had the same foul trick.
"All of them are the same. There's no way it could be just some mistake!" Ethan exclaimed. He groaned in frustration, pressing against the bridge of his nose. "Shit! I knew we shouldn't have trusted that bastard, Nagasaki or whatever his name is!" He stood up, desiring to throw the briefcase into the nearest wall like it was a brick without any regard to the amount of yen they would have to pay for the damages. Ben sat there with his elbow on his leg and his hand on his forehead, looking down in disbelief.
"I don't understand, Nagasawa and I were friends for years! Why would he do something like this?" inquired Ben, undoubtedly puzzled of his friend's sudden betrayal.
"Well, one thing's for sure. He's definitely not friends with you anymore." Ethan replied, bluntly out of frustration. Honestly, Ethan knew something like this would happen. That Nagasawa seemed too suspicious for his liking. He had bodyguards around him along with gang members in the bar. It was practically brought a group that similar to the size of a Comic-Con convention. If he trusted Ben not to do anything harmful, Nagasawa wouldn't needed an army of gang members. Just the fact he brought gangsters along with him in the trade was suspicious enough. Because of that, Ethan assumed Nagasawa was the leader of that gang, the probability of that assumption to be true was almost believable. Ethan sighed, still in disbelief. He couldn't believe he was this stupid to fall for a foul trick like that. Clenching his fists, he didn't have to do much thinking to know their plan of action against Nagasawa.
"Ben, do you know where Nagasawa could be heading next?" Ethan asked suddenly. Ben looked up at him at the corner of his peripheral vision upon hearing his name. It didn't take an minute for Ben to think of his next destination.
"Nagasawa did mention something about hopping onto one of those carriers from the docks of Oarai." Upon hearing his answer, Ethan groaned.
"God damn…that's far from where we are now…" Even more confused than before, Ben looked up at Ethan directly and gave him a puzzled look. "By the time we—"
"Hold just a second here, what do you mean by tha—" His eyes widened, realizing what the soon to be eighteen year old fortune hunter was planning. "Oh no no no no. We are not going to—"
Immediately, Ethan replied in shock, "Why?! That bastard ripped us off and not only that, he has that gold coin I ended up having to go through shit to get ahold of it. I'm going to get—"
"No! Ethan, I know how pissed you must be right now, but think straight for once and—"
"And what? We're just going to let him go without any—" Ben stood up and grabbed Ethan's shoulders in a quick succession, which surprised him.
"I never said that. We're definitely going to get back at him, but if you're going to walk out of that door without a plan or any idea of what you're going up against, then I have to stop you before you get yourself killed. Remember kid, you're not invincible. You're as human as the people around you are. And humans can easily die within a matter of a second. So if you're looking to take revenge against Nagasawa, at least have a plan, because if you're continue your reckless act, then you'll die faster you can say 'shit'." Ben looked in Ethan's eyes. Not one motion of his eyes moved from that spot. Combined with his stone-like look and his unmoving eyes, Ben was frightening serious like he was a statue peering into Ethan's very soul. But he had to admit that he was reckless. Ethan tended to run into situations without much regard for his and Ben's safety. There was never a moment where Ethan found himself into a death trap, only to barely survive his encounter with adversaries, leaving Ben to act like the overprotective parent.
Ethan had to face it.
Ben was right.
All of his escapes from what seemed to inevitable death were just pure luck.
There is going to be a day where he got himself killed because of his reckless judgment.
Facing Nagasawa was no exception either.
Ethan sighed, once again, facing reality. "Ok Ben, you win." He snickered. "You were always the one to be a protective parent." Ben chuckled.
"What can I say? I've always wanted to be parent with a beautiful wife and kids."
"Of course you do Ben, that's why you picked me up the orphanage. Yet I didn't think we would one day decide to be fortune hunters."
"Your father was, I don't see why we won't continue on his legacy." said Ben. "And why not continue his legacy by getting back that gold coin from Nagasawa as payback?"
Ethan grinned as soon as he mentioned Nagasawa. "I like your thinking. Now, let's see how we can get this bastard on his knees."
"Ohhh yeah, I have a lot of things to ask him."
"And we'll get it out of him, along with the gold coin." Ethan held out his hand. "You in?" Ben chuckled once again, taking another sip of his beer left on the coffee table.
"Ethan, I was in before you even asked. Let's do it." Ben grabbed his hand and raised it up to the level of where their hands met their face. Both widened their mouths, revealing white shiny teeth, a smile brighter than the light that lit this room. Ethan pulled his phone and pulled up a map of Japan, zooming into the mainland of Oarai, specifically the docks. Using that map, both fortune hunters started devising a plan for take revenge.
So none of them would die.
{—}
This could've been better written and I feel the diction could be improved, but next chapter would improve upon this chapter. And the next chapter would be where Ethan and Ben would execute their plan to take back what was rightfully theirs, which is the gold coin, the artifact that the entire main plot revolves around, well at least the other side of things. The fortune hunting side. Then there's the school life side. You guys will find out soon on the next few chapters. Now this story will replace Conduit Und Panzer, I apologize for those who enjoyed that story and I wished for it's continuation, but read the author's message in prologue and you'll understand why. With this chapter out of the way, I can now start typing up the next chapter to RWBY's FNS, well Chapter 12 since Chapter 11 will be uploaded once my internet comes back. But until next time, I'll see you guys in the next chapter!