Ch.7-Lazy days and scars
Yes. A lazy day.
"Well, shoot!" Holt sighed as he trudged back to the lobby with Toshi beside him. "I lost again….oh, well." He shrugged as he and Toshi halted close to Tiffany's desk. "I'm sure we'll battle again someday, right? I'll keep practicing!" Holt waved as he walked away.
"Congratulations!" Tiffany praised. "Next up is the Level Master-the final battle!"
Toshi once again walked to the Battle Area but halted when he saw McJunker at the end. "Don't tell me you're-"
"You did it, junior! But I can't say I'm surprised. After all, anyone with your skills at finding and fighting was going to make it here."
"What are you doing here, McJunker?"
"What, you're surprised to see me here? I suppose I didn't mention that I'm a level-three master? Now you'll have to beat me or you'll never be a level-four Fighter!" McJunker turned and headed into the arena as he raised his right index finger. "Don't think I'll go easy on you, either. My Vivosaur team is a force to be reckoned with, so watch out!" McJunker faced Toshi as he halted at his side of the battlefield and pulled out three Dino Medals. "Enough talking. Let's battle. Come out! Stygi, Cerato, and Kentro!"
Kentro stood on four feet and had green skin. Spikes ran along its back and shoulders with a black stripe down them and Kentro's back. He had an orange underbelly, green face, blue underneath his tail, and orange stripes along his sides.
"Cerato Combo on V-raptor!" McJunker ordered. "Fiendish Ram on Spinax!"
"Spinax Fang on Cerato! Veloci-claw on Cerato as well!"
"Repeat Cerato Combo!"
"Wing Cutter on Cerato! Spinax Fang on Kentro!"
"Cerato Combo on V-raptor!"
"Spinax Combo to retaliate his attack!" Toshi growled as V-raptor faded. "Wing Cutter on Kentro!"
"Whirling Dash on Coatlus!" McJunker said as Cerato was defeated. "Fiendish Ram on Coatlus!"
"Diving Thrust on Kentro!" Toshi ordered as Kentro crashed his spikes into Coatlus, who swiftly counterattacked and defeated the Herbivore. "Spinax Fang on Stygi!"
"Repeat Fiendish Ram on Coatlus!"
"Wing Cutter to finish!"
McJunker smiled as Stygi faded. "Congratulations, junior. I'm impressed."
With Toshi beside him, McJunker headed back to the lobby.
"Beating me is no easy feat, frankly. Well done. My apprentice Holt is improving steadily, but you're in a league all by yourself. Keep digging and reviving and soon you'll be in a major league of your own!" McJunker handed Toshi his level-four Fighter's License. "All right. You are officially certified as a level-four Fighter, Toshi! If you ever fell like visiting, you can find me over in the Junk Depot!" McJunker walked away just as Rosie trotted up to Toshi.
"Congratulations, Toshi!" She said. "I'm getting ready for my level-up battle." She sighed. "…I'm nervous. But seriously, Toshi…great job. Seems like you're always one step ahead of me! Better watch out, though. I'm hot on your heels!"
…Huh…? Toshi glanced at his heels, wondering if they were burning.
"Hey, what's that?" Rosie pointed to the idol poking up from Toshi's backpack.
"This?" Toshi pulled out the idol to show Rosie.
"You got another one of those weird idols?"
"Yeah. I found it in Rivet Ravine."
"What in the world are these tings?" Rosie picked up the idol to inspect it. "And why are they so tacky?"
"I guess we'll never know." Toshi retrieved the idol from Rosie.
"Well, I gotta get going for my level-up battle." Rosie sighed as Toshi placed the idol back in his backpack. "Wish me luck!"
Toshi watched Rosie waked away before he exited Fossil Stadium to head back to the hotel so he could have something for dinner.
After breakfast the next day, Toshi decided that he would spend the whole day searching for fossils so he could build up his Vivosaur team. He had only just exited the hotel, after placing the second idol on the bookshelf next to its brother, when he noticed Rosie trotting toward him.
"Hey, Toshi!" She said eagerly as she halted in front of the boy. "What are you going to do today?"
"Just going to Knotwood Forest to dig up fossils. Or I may head to Bottomsup Bay since it's my new dig site."
"Well, cancel that. 'Cause you and me are going to go swimming! Swimming, baby."
Toshi sighed. "And why are we going to do this?"
"Because it's hot. And tonight there's going to be a special karaoke night in the Park Area! We're also going to do that!"
"There's no 'we'." Toshi said as he waked past Rosie. "You can do those things. I'll be out fossil hunting."
Rosie frowned as Toshi headed toward Beth to arrange a boat to take him to whatever dig site he was heading to. "So that's it? Do you always try and push people away? Do you always want to live your life in solitude?"
Toshi paused and abruptly turned to face Rosie. "You think you can tell me how to live my life?" He questioned as he strode toward the frustrating girl. "You don't know what I've been through!"
"I would if you would let me in!"
"You're so frustrating!"
"Cold-hearted boy!"
"Rich girl!"
"Loner who can't get a friend!"
"Selfish!"
With each insult, both Fighters had gotten closer to each other until they stood only an inch away from each other.
Rosie suddenly smiled. "So does that mean you'll go swimming with me?"
Toshi grumpily watched Rosie splashing around in the ocean water as he stood on shore. They were both in the Park Area where a dock was. Rosie currently wore a pink bathing suit, a one piece, and was swimming close to the dock.
"Hey, come on, you lazy bones!" Rosie called, staring at Toshi as she halted her swimming. "Get into some swimming trunks and join me!"
"I don't swim." Toshi stated as he glanced away, folding his arms across his chest. "And I won't ever swim."
Rosie frowned as she climbed onto the dock and waked toward Toshi. "I want you to join me!"
"And I said I don't want to." Toshi turned and walked away. "I'm leaving."
"Come on!" Toshi grabbed Toshi's wrist to stop the boy. "I'm trying to help!"
"You're just annoying me." Toshi pulled his wrist out of Rosie's grasp. "I don't need your help."
Rosie sighed as she watched Toshi stride away, but didn't go after him. After a few seconds, she trotted after Toshi and grabbed his arm. "Please stay with me. I won't try to force you to swim with me anymore. I just want the company."
Toshi sighed as he watched Rosie, then turned and walked back toward the dock. "All right. I'll stay."
Rosie grinned and trotted back to the dock as well. She sat on the edge, though, and dipper her feet into the water while Toshi leaned against the nearby railing. It was quiet since neither wanted to talk.
"So…" Rosie muttered after a few seconds of silence. "You can't swim."
"No, I can swim. I just…hate swimming."
"Why?" Rosie looked at Toshi. "Why don't you want to swim?"
"I'll only show you one…" Toshi lifted up the right sleeve of his shirt, revealing the scar etched into his skin.
Rosie gasped when she saw it. "Who did that-"
Toshi swiftly pushed the sleeve down as he turned his back on Rosie. "This was a mistake. I should never had shown you."
"Wait!" Rosie cried as Toshi walked away from her. "Will you come to the karaoke tonight?"
Toshi paused. "I'll see." He murmured before continuing.
Rosie exhaled once the boy had vanished. "I just don't think he understands what I'm trying to do for him."
Rosie glanced around as she waited for Toshi once the stars had come out. A stage sat in the middle of the park with several chairs sitting before it; lost of the chairs were filled with the inhabitants of Vivosaur Island that wanted to join in on the karaoke.
Rosie sighed when she didn't notice Toshi.
"I should have known that he wouldn't come."
"…Hey."
Rosie stared to her left and spotted Toshi standing nearby with a slightly awkward stance. "Hey, Toshi! You came!"
"I said I'd think about it." Toshi said as he sat next to Rosie. "And I decided to come."
"I'm glad you did."
A male waked onto the stage and paused in front of the microphone positioned at the front of the stage.
"Hello, Vivosaur Island natives!" He cried. "Tonight is the once-in-a-lifetime karaoke night! Tonight's theme is "Victim in the spotlight"! Which means, a spotlight will randomly pick people from the audience to come up and sing a randomized song. You don't have to worry about singing well, just sing it right! All right, let's begin!" The man walked offstage as a spotlight appeared and started to rove around the audience.
"Just because I'm here, doesn't mean I'm going to sing." Toshi said, watching the stage a few feet in front of him emotionlessly.
"I don't think you have a choice." Rosie giggled and Toshi glanced up to see the spotlight shining down on him.
And before he could protest, two random girls dragged him toward the stage and pushed him in front of the microphone.
Toshi stared at the silent crowd before him as they waited for him to begin. After a few seconds, he began to sing a song that he used to listen to constantly when he was younger.
"What do I do to ignore them behind me? Do I follow my instincts blindly? Do I hide my pride from these bad dreams and give into sad thoughts that are maddening?"
Toshi shook his head as he closed his eyes.
"Do I sit there and try to stand it? Or do I try to catch them red-handed?"
He opened his eyes and gazed at the stage as he lowered his head slightly.
"Do I trust somebody and get fooled by phoniness? Or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?"
Toshi looked up at the crowd.
"Because I can't hold on when I'm stretched so thin. I make the right moves but I'm lost within. I put on my daily façade, but then I just end up getting hurt again. By myself."
Toshi closed his eyes.
"Myself."
He opened his eyes.
"I ask why, but in my mind, I find I can't rely on myself. I ask why, but in my mind, I find I can't rely on myself. I can't hold onto what I want when I'm stretched so thin. It's all too much to take in."
Toshi sighed.
"I can't hold onto anything, watching everything spin with thoughts of failure sinking in. If I turn my back, I'm senseless. And to go blindly seems defenseless."
Toshi shook his head.
"If I hide my pride and let it all go on, then they'll take from me till everything's gone. If I let them go, I'll be outrun. But if try to catch them, I'll be outdone."
A dark sadness sparked deep within Toshi's eyes, but it quickly disappeared.
"If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer, then I'll be buried in the silence of the answer. By myself. Myself. I ask why, but in my mind, I find I can't rely on myself."
Toshi shook his head once more.
"I ask why, but in my mind, I find I can't rely on myself. I can't hold onto what I want when I'm stretched so thin. It's all too much to take in. I can't hold onto anything, watching everything spin with thoughts of failure sinking in."
Toshi gazed coldly at the crowd before him.
"How do you think I've lost so much. I'm so afraid, that I'm out of touch. How do you know…I will know what to do when all I know is what you tell me to."
Toshi swiped his left arm to the side.
"Don't you know I can't tell you how to make it go. No matter what I do, how hard I try, I can't seem to convince myself why I'm stuck on the outside."
Toshi closed his eyes as he placed his left on the microphone.
"Don't you know I can't tell you how to make it go. No matter what I do, how hard I try, I can't seem to convince myself why I'm stuck on the outside. I can't hold onto what I want when I'm stretched so thin. It's all too much to take in. I can't hold onto anything, watching everything spin with thought of failure sinking in."
Toshi gripped the center of his shirt with his left hand.
"I can't hold onto what I want when I'm stretched so thin. It's all too much to take in. I can't hold onto anything, watching everything spin with thoughts of failure sinking in."
The next day, Toshi immediately headed to Beth after breakfast so he could make arrangements to go to Bottomsup Bay.
"Off to Bottomsup Bay?" Beth asked when Toshi halted in front her small podium. "Then I'll have to ask you to wear this mask." She handed Toshi a diving mask.
"That means I'm actually going under the water?" Toshi muttered to himself.
"This diving mask will allow you to breathe underwater." Beth explained. "That way you'll be able to dig up fossils without worrying about drowning."
"Well…guess this means I'll have to put on some swimming trunks." Toshi headed toward the dock where Travers' boat waited to Fighters to dig sites. "But I'm not taking off my shirt."
"One warning though." Beth called and Toshi stopped to look at her. "Watch out for Denture Sharks that prowl those waters."
"What are Denture Sharks?"
"Denture Sharks wear false teeth. Big, sharp ones." Beth made a menacing motion with her fingers before she smiled. "Ok, you can be on your way now. Have a safe trip!"
Toshi glanced around as he entered Bottomsup Bay. He wore the diving mask, which actually was just like a micro aqualung, and still had his shirt on, but instead of his usual shorts, he had on black swimming trunks with his Dino Medals in a protective packaging so his Vivosaurs wouldn't drown.
"Heeeelp!"
Toshi halted and glanced to his left, spotting Rosie, who was waving frantically near the entrance to another area of the bay. She wore her bathing suit and her diving mask, but also wore pink shorts that obviously held her Dino Medals. Long purple fish swam close to her, their mouths open in a frozen grin, baring sharp fanged teeth.
"What are you doing?" Toshi asked.
"I was just out here digging when I looked up and I was surrounded by sharks! The sharks out here are a weird species of dangerous man-eaters called Denture Sharks!"
"So I've heard."
"They swim up to you super fast and knock you out from the force of the blow! And if you're really slow, they'll just eat you on the spot!"
"I'll take my chances with a T-rex." Toshi turned to leave.
"Toshi, I can't get out of here!" Rosie whined. "Come help me! Pleeease!"
Toshi sighed as he faced Rosie. "The things I do." He headed toward Rosie, still trying to figure out how he could keep his feet on the ground. Every time a Denture Shark swam toward him, he ducked to avoid the attack. Once he had gotten close to Rosie, the Denture Sharks gave up and went away.
"Thanks, Toshi." Rosie sighed. "I thought I was a goner! Those teeth may be fake, but the bite still hurts!"
"Letting you get eaten would have left a bad taste in my mouth." Toshi muttered, looking away from Toshi.
"Hey, I got a tip for you, since you saved my life and all. I heard that there's an old, sunken pirate ship somewhere on the floor of Bottomsup Bay. I've read up on the history of the area and I think it must be the legendary Captain Woolbeard's ship!" Rosie's eyes sparkled eagerly. "If I'm right, that old boat will be loaded with treasure and rare fossils! Let's look for pirate ship together!" Rosie suddenly became thoughtful. "There has to be a reason no one's found it, though…and thanks again for your help with the Denture Sharks." She smiled. "It was really brave of you, Toshi."
"Like I said," Toshi said as he and Rosie started walking. "It would have left a bad taste."
Toshi and Rosie stared at the large ship in front of them before they headed into the large hole in the ship's hull. Rosie curiously removed her diving mask and inhaled.
"Toshi, there's air in here! Fresh air!" Rosie sniffed the air. "How strange."
Toshi also took off his diving mask and placed it in his pocket. "That is curious."
"Anyway, let's explore the pirate ship!" Rosie looked at Toshi eagerly. "Be sure to open any treasure chests you see, and…most importantly, we should look for Captain Woolbeard's quarters!"
"Why search for his room?" Toshi questioned as he and Rosie began to explore the ship.
"I'd hate to miss the opportunity." Rosie explained.
"Well, maybe Woolbeard doesn't want to be disturbed. I'd hate to incur the wrath of-"
"Whoa, there it is!" Rosie halted in front of an intricately carved door. "Woolbeard's room!"
"Now, let's not-"
"Let's go!" Rosie rushed into the room excitedly.
Toshi sighed, but followed after her.
The room was large with a single desk sitting in the center. Atop the desk was a globe, a quill pen, and several papers. Nailed into the wall behind the desk was a map.
"Woooolly!" A voice wailed.
A figure appeared behind the desk.
The ghost had a very scruffy beard reaching down to his chest, blue eyes with a patch over his right eye, and wore a hat atop his head.
"Arr!" The apparition growled. "Ye face the legendary pirate, Captain Woolbeard!"
Yes! It's...Woolbeard, the pirate! hehe.
