Author Notes:
So this chapter we learned a bit about Alex, and met a new character! So, regarding Alex, we learned that she's a treasure hunter and that he had a roommate. If you're wondering, the roommates name was Elise. Of course she's dead now so she doesn't matter. More importantly, Alex is a treasure hunter. Yep, that's her profession and he's pretty good at it. It's fun to do and pays the bills, what could be better? Oh yeah, if you're wondering why I was being a little coy with whether Alex is a boy or girl, it's because I don't really know myself. Alex as a character had a pretty interesting creation. See there's another story I'm writing currently, a Shakugan no Shana story called Dying Embers. Originally the main character of that story was a guy named Alex and there was all sorts of stuff about him. Alex was replaced with Eve for that story, and the character design was sort of locked away until it returned for this story. With a few changes, such as the ponytail and a few personality traits. I started working on some other stuff and once I eventually got back to this story, I had long since forgotten if it was supposed to be Alexander or Alexandra. As such, I stopped caring and Alex is now whatever you want him/her to be.
As for Gideon, he always existed as is, but I came up with his name right when he showed up in this chapter. I always had him in, I just never actually bothered to give him a name. Gideon is as good a name as any, and so he was given a name. He'll be showing up later in the story, so we'll learn more later. Probably.
Well, that's about it for this chapter. See you next time!
Arrival at Zero Hour part 2
I led Louise back to my house… Well, I suppose it's not really my house. I live there, sure, but I don't remember paying anything like rent or things that normal people pay to live where they live. Of course I never payed for the house, my roommate did that! I suppose if you were to call it anyone's house you would say it's hers, but she doesn't live here anymore. I get all the benefit of having a house and none of the negatives like getting kicked out because I don't have any money! What a great deal!
"So you live here?" Louise asks.
"For now," I reply. "I move around a lot, but for now I'm here in Japan."
"Japan," Louise carefully inspects the word. "You said that's the name of the county I'm in?"
"Exactly! I forgot the name of the city, but I know everything else!" I declare.
"You don't even know what city you're living in?" Louise asks. "How long have you lived here, exactly?"
"Um… not very long," I tell her. "My sense of time went bye-bye a long time ago. But I know all I need to about this city to give you a proper tour!"
"Tour?" Louise asks. "What do you mean by that?"
"Well, you're not exactly going to be exploring the world, are you?" I ask. "I'd gain a lot of respect for you if your first reaction to being a new world is to explore all of it, but I wouldn't recommend it. I mean, I've been around for a suuuuper long time and I don't know anything about the world! It's like every time I wake up the world's gone all screwy. It kind of weirds me out, to be honest. It's like I'm missing huge parts of history because I'm too busy sleeping."
"… Right," Louise doesn't seem amused. "Back to the house for a minute. If there aren't any nobles or commoners in this world, are houses like this normal?"
I touch my index finger to my cheek and start thinking. Well, my house is kind of small, I think. I don't know many rich people though, so I don't know what I would consider above average.
"I think it's about average, though it's more than someone in my profession deserves," I finally decide on. "I've been thinking of expanding the house a bit, making it a bit larger. Once I get my first big score, I can start working on it."
"Big score?" Louise asks. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's my job!" I say. "I'm the world's greatest treasure hunter! I track down all sorts of useless and pointless knick knacks and bobbles! I haven't found anything in a few years though, so I've been in a bit of a bind."
"You've been working for years?" Louise asks, sounding rather shocked.
"Is that a big revelation?" I ask.
"Just how old are you?" she asks. "You look like you can't be any older than I am."
"I can assure you, I'm a quite a bit older than twelve," I say with a smile. That comment earns me a slap.
"I am not twelve!" Louise yells at me. "I'm sixteen! Sixteen!"
"… No you're not," I say. "It's not nice to lie about your age."
"I'm not lying!" Louise keeps yelling.
"Well, I shouldn't be surprised," I say. "I've known a lot of people who are older than they look. Like my previous roommate! She looked nine or ten, but she was eighteen. Age was a very touchy topic for her."
"You've had other people stay here?" Louise asks. "Any particular reason they aren't here any more? Perhaps they got fed up with dealing with you and left?"
"Oh no, she died!" I say cheerfully.
"E-excuse me?" Louise responds.
"Yep!" I tell her. "She got killed some time ago, and I've been living on my own since then."
"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Louise says. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."
"Oh, don't worry about it!" I assure her. "It's been a while since she left, I'm not too broken up about it. Perhaps we can change the subject?"
"Right, o-of course," Louise says. She starts thinking about where to take the conversation.
Well there are plenty of places to go with it. We could talk about the weather, we could talk about animals, we could talk about what Louise's world was like. There are plenty of fun worlds! I haven't been to another world since… well, I've never personally gone to another world. I've known people who come from other worlds, but I've never been to one. … Well, they said they're from another world. I don't exactly have a way to prove it, but why would they lie about something like that? Sure, anyone can say they're from another world, but proving it is really hard. I understand. When you're from another world you usually aren't preparing to go on an intergalactic trip so you don't exactly prepare anything. Darn shame, I'd love to see some awesome other worldly treasures. I could probably make some good money on them! Oh, if Louise had some awesome magical artifact, I know a local pawn shop that would pay such a mint for it! Aw, that'd be amazing!
"You okay?" Louise asks me. "You spaced out again."
"So do you have anything I could sell?" I ask. "W-wait, no, not what I meant!"
"I'd certainly hope not!" Louise says. "I suppose the question you meant to ask was 'do you have anything interesting from your world?'"
"Yes!" I say. "That was it exactly!"
"Well, sorry to disappoint, but I wasn't exactly prepared to be taken out of my world," Louise says.
"I wasn't expecting you to be," I reply. "No one ever is."
"All I've got is my wand, and my good luck charm," Louise says, pulling both artifacts out of her pocket and showing them to me.
The wand looked like a stick. I pluck the stick from her grasp and carefully examine it. … Yup. It's a stick. I look at it from this end, it looks like a stick. I look at it from this other end, it looks like a stick. Pretty good wood, I'll say that. Where do you get the wood you need to make a wand? Is it rare? Is it expensive? Are there farms that exist for the soul purpose of growing trees to make wands? How intriguing.
"Alex, it's a stick," Louise tells me. "Magic wand or not, it's just a twig used to channel magic, there isn't anything very special about that one."
"Ah, that's disappointing," I say, giving the wand back to her.
Having examined the wand, I examine her "good luck charm." It looked like a small, golden marble. It was about the same size, just a little big bigger than the average marble, and it looked like it was made completely out of gold. Oh, what a fancy little trinket we have here.
"Where'd you pick up something like that?" I ask. "It doesn't look like something you would just buy in any old pawn shop."
"It isn't," Louise confirms. "It was my grandmother's good luck charm, and she passed it down to my mother, who gave it to me."
Passed down, huh? It seems like they really took good care of it. That's really nice of them. Has it really brought them good luck?
"Has it brought you a lot of good luck?" I ask, since I might as well confirm.
"… So far no, but it hasn't brought me any bad luck either," Louise says.
"And that's all that matters!" I say.
"I suppose so," Louise agrees. "Here's something I've been meaning to ask. You only have one bed, right?"
"That is correct!" I say. "My roommate never had much money, so we couldn't afford any other beds."
"Right, so where am I supposed to sleep?" she asks.
"Oh, that's easy! You sleep up on the roof while I stay warm and comfortable in my bed!" I tell her.
"Excuse me?!" Louise exclaims. "You would leave a poor, lost girl to sleep on the roof, out in the cold?"
"Of course not, I'd give you a blanket," I tell her. "Is the roof not a good place to sleep?"
"Of course not!"
"But I've slept out there multiple times!" I insist. "It's summertime, so it's very nice out these days!"
"I'm not sleeping out on the roof!" Louise insists right back.
"So we're both using the bed?" I ask.
"Well…" Louise seems unsure. "I suppose it wouldn't be an awful idea. We're both girls after all so it shouldn't be that much of an issue."
"You think I'm a girl?" I ask.
"… Are you telling me you're a boy?" Louise asks.
"I didn't say that, I was just noting how weird it is. Most of the people I talk to automatically assume I'm a girl, and I don't know why. I mean sure, my hair's sort of long and ponytails certainly are a rather feminine hairstyle. I don't have a feminine body in the least, though! Look, I don't think I have curves. Well, certainly no hips. I mean, if I turn like this and puff out like this then it kind of looks like I have a somewhat noticeable chest, though if I were to wear something a bit baggier no one would probably notice. I could probably chalk that up to genetics or something though. I've been told I have a pretty feminine face, but then I've met some other people who have said that I've got a somewhat masculine build, or at least that my arms and legs aren't super, super feminine. I don't know, I don't really know enough about male and female bodies to accurately rate where I fall on the scale. And if we're just going to go on my hairstyle, I just keep it like this because I like it. Ponytails are very low maintenance. At least, mine is. I've never met enough people with ponytails to ask."
"Wait… So, you didn't really answer my question," Louise says. "Are you a boy or a girl?"
"Yes, I am," I tell her.
Louise isn't amused by my answer.
"Whatever," Louise says. "I'll take the bed. It's better than the roof."
"Yay! And tomorrow I'll take you on a tour of the town so you know where you are. That sound okay?"
"Sure, sounds fine," Louise says. "Whatever allows me to just go to sleep now."
But it's not even that late out! I was only searching around the for a few hours at most, so it's no where near the time that people usually go to sleep. Well, some people have really weird sleeping schedules, so it wouldn't be that odd. … Wait, it's pitch black out. Why is it pitch black out? It's, like, 10 o'clock. I reach into my pocket, pull out my watch and look at the time. Yeah, it's not even eleven yet! … Oooooh, I misread the mark. It's almost eleven PM and not eleven AM. How did I not notice, it's super dark outside. I guess I was so caught up in my treasure hunt I lost track of time. That happens a lot. Normally it means I was just so caught up in searching for something shiny that caught my eye and then BOOP, it's three days later and I'm collapsing because I haven't eaten. That's usually a problem. Only sometimes a problem, sometimes I get to just keep running on and I get a nice prize at the end. Sometimes it's lame, but whatever. That's the problem with being a treasure hunter, not everything is worth something. I mean, Louise's good luck charm is worth quite a bit, but I obviously can't sell that. Oh, whatever. I'll just work on touring Louise around tomorrow.
*Scene Break*
"Okay, Alex's Amazing Tour Service is now leaving!" I declare. "Do the tourists who are with us have any questions?"
"Far too many, but none that you could answer," Louise says.
"Awesome! Alright, let's go!" I say, motioning for Louise to start following me. "Aaaaaand, stop! Here we are at our first tour stop, my house!"
"I've already been here, you idiot!" Louise yells at me.
"… Oh yeah, you have. … Next tour stop!"
"Is that it?!" Louise exclaims.
I start leading Louise throughout the town.
"This is the park! People come here to relax sometimes."
"We were here yesterday, I'm aware that there's a park in this city!" Louise exclaims again.
"Then what's the point of going on a tour if you already know everything about this place?!" I ask.
"I don't know anything about the city, you just keep taking me to places I do know!" Louise tells me.
"No matter!" I say. "Come along, Strawberry."
"I'm not a strawberry," Louise grumbles.
So, having been through the park that a lot of people go through, I decide to take Louise to another place that a lot of people go to. It's a pretty popular tourist spot, though I don't really know why.
"Here we are, the famous North High!" I say.
"It's just a school," Louise notes.
"Indeed! It's a very popular tourist destination," I tell her.
"Why? It's a school," Louise says. "Why would anyone actually want to go to a school?"
"I dunno, I think someone really famous went there before," I offer. "I just know that it is a pretty popular place, I don't know why it's pretty popular."
"I don't get it," Louise says.
"I don't either," I agree. "Pretty good school though, from what I hear. I don't spend a lot of time in school, so I don't know what makes a good one."
"Uh huh," Louise says. "So, any good cafes or other food places? I didn't have a very large breakfast."
"I'd be worried if you did, considering I don't really have much food on offer," I say. "I buy what I need, and thus, need what I buy! Well, I don't always need what I buy, but I buy it anyway because I'd like to get it. I mean, when you're as successful a treasure hunter as I am, you can afford to buy a few extra bags of chips!"
"Did you only buy an extra bag of chips because it was all you could buy?" Louise asks.
"Yep! But it's okay, because I like chips!" I say. "Since you brought up food, let's go! I know a great place."
"That sounds good," Louise says.
Luckily the place I was thinking of was near the school. As such, it was a pretty popular place for students to meat up. Since neither me nor Louise were students, we kind of stood out as a result. Oh well, food is food and paying customers are paying customers. I ordered a coffee, and helped Louise order some tea and a ham sandwich. Apparently since she was from another world she had trouble with our language. I don't blame her, even I don't know what I'm reading half the time.
"This world is so weird," Louise says.
"Yep," I agree. I was going to say more when I saw someone I recognize over in another seat. "… Give me a second Louise, I need to go talk to someone."
"H-hey wait, where you going?" Louise asks as I get up and leave.
I walk over to that man and take a seat across form him. He didn't look very old, probably in his late twenties. Don't let that fool you, he's probably close to his fifties or sixties and he just takes good care of his skin. He had short black hair and he was wearing a nice black suit. I'd tell you the color of his eyes, but he thought that wearing sunglasses inside was a way of telling people you were super cool. It's not cool. Sunglasses aren't cool. They keep the sun out of your eyes and that's it. They don't make you look any cooler or mysterious. If it's not sunny out, don't wear sunglasses. Don't. It's stupid.
"So, long time no see, Gideon" I say.
"What a pleasant surprise," Gideon says. "I hadn't expected to run into you here."
"And I wasn't exactly expecting you to be chilling in this cafe," I tell him. "Do you have business in this town?"
"Perhaps," he says. "I don't see why it would be any of your business."
"If it's your business, than it's my business," I tell him. "That's kind of how our industry works."
"I suppose you are correct," he says. "And you already know what my business is. After all, you're here looking for the exact same thing, aren't you?"
"Same thing but for different reasons," I admit. "Than I suppose we'll be competing again."
"Indeed," he says. "I do hope that things go better for you this time. I truly am sorry about your friend."
"No you're not," I say. "Good bye, Gideon. I look forward to working against you."
"The same to you," he says. "May the best hunter win."
"I probably will, thank you very much," I thank him. I leave the seat and head back to the chair Louise was at. Luckily our drinks and Louise's food had arrived.
"So who was that?" Louise asks me. "Old friend?"
"An old treasure hunting rival," I correct. "We met a while ago when we were trying to go after the same treasure. He's a dick, I hate him."
"O-okay then," Louise seems surprised. "I didn't know you could hate someone. You don't seem like the type of person to hold a grudge."
"I'm not, but he's done a lot of very annoying things," I say. "I'm really not a huge fan of him and the less I get to see him the better. Oh, but that's serious stuff. Let's talk about some other fun stuff!"
Lousie didn't seem certain, but eventually she decided to simply move on and we started talking about other topics that didn't have to do with my arch-nemesis.