Chapter 10: Five Wandering Travellers (Part 2: China)
… And this is Part 2 of the Journey!
Reviews:
Tempest the 1rst: Yeah, I know right?
Anisademongirl: Uh… how to say this… Rin doesn't exactly dislike Oliver, but um… idk, just felt like making some rivalry. I mean, they can't all be goody goody friends from the start right? I needed some tension!
Jayson Okazaki: Hey Jayson-san! By Hinata I meant a reference to Naruto. Do you know it? The anime? Hinata is a really shy character in Naruto, that's why I put that there. And I absolutely adore her. I guess I'm ok at drawing… I drew my profile? Thanks for the luck and you're ten? Um… don't you have to be 13 to be on this site? Or at least have an account? But who listens to those rules! Good luck on your competition!
This is the tenth chapter…
The longest story I ever finished had ten chapters…
(I deleted a story with 13 chapters and still ongoing though.)
I'm pretty proud of this story. And the fact that this is currently my fifth chapter this week.
I just want to remind some people with a smug smirk on my face before this chapter begins: ALMOST NOTHING IS POINTLESS FLUFF!
You've been warned. Now, I suggest you figure out what I mean before you read this chapter. Think! ;)
Note: I placed them in the real world. However! It's the Creation Goddess's world, so it has nothing! Absolutely nothing! To do with any of the religions or stuff here! The places are the same, and some other stuff might be the same, but this is my world. Nothing is wrong. If you tell me I got some info wrong about some place, I most likely will change it, but it's still my world so I'm telling you guys before hand, don't get pissed if I don't change something. Not that I think you guys will, this is just a precaution because of where I placed my story.
…
Three months later...
"Ok." Hana plopped down on the bed of one of their two hotel rooms as the others gathered around. "So, let's get our information straight about the god's human form."
This was their third hotel.
The first caught on fire when Len's lightning got out of control when he was arguing with Oliver.
The second was overgrown by flowers when Rin got frustrated by finding no leads after searching through one too many business buildings.
After Tianyi's long debate with some staff about how much the two rooms were going to cost (Hana managing to follow the conversation and muttering in some colorful insults under her breath. Hey! She was the daughter of a merchant. She might be compassionate, but she did not take kindly to being ripped off.), they finally managed to secure two rooms (With Tianyi and Hana sharing a high five in victory, the staff extremely pissed that they had lost to two fourteen year olds) and were now about to begin the searching part of their mission. Again.
"Can't gods shift their disguises though?" Oliver groaned in annoyance. "And speak a lot of languages? And erase memory like Yukari-sama? We spent three months!"
"Yukari-sama is the Goddess of Healing." Rin reminded him. "She could have used that power with the loophole of healing their distress."
"You prefects sure know a lot." Hana remarked absently.
Len shrugged. "The other prefects subtly told us a lot of information in the week that they were here. They were so good at not acting suspicious at first that I didn't suspect a thing."
"R-really?" Tianyi was intrigued. "What else d-did they tell you?"
"Oh!" Rin snapped her fingers. "They said that the gods like attention, but know not to attract too much attention. They would be positions like, I don't know, vice president."
"Major Luka also gave me this book. I finally finished reading it. It was tucked with the diagrams." Len held a battered brown book up. "It gave me some information about gods…"
"Gods also seem subtly inhuman… And they do their best to hide their magic, so sometimes if you feel random pulses of magical energy from someone, and then feel nothing, they're probably inhuman." Len added thoughtfully. "Like us. We're actually unconsciously hiding our energy now, but during battle, it's released. So right after battle, our bodies will be trying to suppress it until it relaxes again, so we might let out random pulses of magical energy as well. Only inhumans, such as Demi, can feel it. It's not visible. A god, on the other hand, has so much energy that it can never relax it completely."
"So, we're be looking for someone with random pulses of energy?" Hana confirmed, eager at the newest lead in three months.
"Yeah… but think about it. It might be a COF god too. Or a COF Demi who just finished battle. We wouldn't be able to tell. We were lucky not to bump into anyone yet." Len sighed. "And we also had to stay around them long enough to be able to tell if there are magic pulses or not. We haven't felt anything unusual after sneaking into all of those company buildings. And-"
Everyone blinked and glanced around in confusion as something began to buzz. Len exchanged a glance with Rin, confused until he realized that one of her pins was vibrating slightly.
"Rin, your pin!" He leaned over, unaware that he was getting too close to her face.
Rin blushed slightly. "Wha-"
He plucked the pin out of her hair, handing it to her obliviously. Rin, now understanding the situation, growled in annoyance, snatching the pin. "Spring." She muttered.
The hologram materialized, and the other three stared in fascination. Rin merely pressed "Accept Call".
"Hey, Rin, Len, Tianyi." Major Luka's face surfaced on the static screen. She then glanced at Oliver and Hana. "And you two uninvited people. We're going to have a talk when you two return." Their faces faltered slightly at her scowl.
"It's been three months. What's up, Major?" Len asked curiously, trying to direct her attention away from Hana and Oliver.
"Yukari-sama-" She was cut off by shouts and gunshots in the background, along with screams.
"Where are you?!" Rin asked, worried.
"I'm in one of our underground bases." Luka grumbled. "Right under the battlefield."
"What?!" Hana and Oliver exclaimed.
"Never mind that. Yukari-sama and General Lily just told me some information that you should know. Yukari-sama asked her brother, the God of War, if he could track down the God of Invention. You're in luck. The God of War is the God of Invention's father. As a favor to his sister, we finally figured out that he goes by the name of Tonio Brown (A/N: Not an OC. Last name is random.). He's twenty seven years old, and he's currently in China on the behalf of- What company?!" She yelled into the background.
"Apple!" The muffled voice of Yukari called back.
"Yeah. Apple." She nodded, glancing back towards the screen. She became annoyed as they just stared at her. "Hey. You guys writing this down?"
"We don't have-" Rin started.
"Got it, Major Luka." Tianyi reported, waving her notebook. Everyone sweat dropped. Of course she had one.
"Alright. Good job Sergeant Luo. We have a picture?!" Luka yelled off screen again.
"Hey!" Oliver complained. "Since when was she a Sergeant? If she's Sergeant for going on this mission, what are we?" Hana nodded in agreement.
"You never were supposed to be on the mission in the first place." Luka replied coldly as Lily's voice said something about a picture in the background.
"Well, we wouldn't be here now without Hana's help." Rin added.
"And mine." Oliver muttered. "You wouldn't have gotten past security without me convincing Hikarine-san. And bribing some of the security guards at the buildings with money illusion- mff!" Hana quickly slapped a hand over his mouth.
"Despite their… situation… they are promoted to Sergeant too, Luka." General Lily's face appeared in the screen.
"Wha- But General! They aren't special and disobeyed orders!"
Lily shrugged. "I'm not special. I'm not even a COT and I'm General. Besides. It's a tough mission. You can't deny that. It doesn't matter, really. Len and Rin will still be in charge of them. They know their place. But that aside," Lily showed a picture to the screen. "This is Tonio Brown."
That man…
All five immediately gaped in shock. A vague memory all simultaneously entered their heads.
"What's wrong?" Luka asked quickly. "Do you know him?"
"That's…"
"...the guy…"
"...from the…"
"...airport." Oliver finished.
…
And that simply lead them back to the airport.
"Do you think that he's still in Shanghai?" Oliver panted as the five teens raced through the airport. Many gave them weird looks as they passed.
"It's worth a try!" Rin replied breathlessly. Len nodded in agreement.
"Tianyi!" Len called as they arrived at the gate, panting heavily. "Where would he be?"
"Apple has a store in… Pudong, I think!" Tianyi replied after a moment of thought. "It's a district in Shanghai. It's quite popular! A glass building that leads underground!"
"Interesting." Hana muttered. "Let's go!"
…
"This is it." Tianyi breathed, too out of breath to stutter. "This is the store."
It truly was a beautiful building. It was a cylindrical glass structure, a spiraling staircase leading below the ground to the actual store. Rin 'oohed' in awe and to their surprise, snapped out a camera.
"Wha-" Len was clearly surprised. "Rin! Where did you get that?"
"Huh?" Rin asked innocently. "Oh! This? I just copied it from a nearby camera store. This is my pin!" She grinned, waving the camera. (A/N: I wonder if I gave Rin too many contrasting personalities. She's should be mostly bubbly and rarely serious.) "I made sure that it was an instant print camera, because I don't know how the digital ones will work when this switches!" She snapped a quick picture and shoved it in her pocket, raising an eyebrow at the others. "What's with the look guys?"
"Rin thought something through." Hana whispered in horror. She and Len turned to each other, eyes wide. "Dude. I thought we were the ones that were supposed to do that."
"I know." Len trembled slightly. "The world's come to an end. We're doomed."
Rin looked ready to kill the both of them while Oliver merely sighed in defeat.
"Um…" Tiany voiced timidly. "You guys? I-I think w-we have bigger problems." That caught their attention. "L-like how are we going to see the God of Invention without acting completely s-suspicious. We c-can't really just go in and tell them that we w-want to see Tonio Brown." She flushed slightly from the attention.
All four deflated. "Right…"
"Well," Hana said thoughtfully. "We can just go in and look around first. I mean, we don't have to bribe our way in this time, so why not?"
"Alright…" The five joined the people heading down the stairs. Hana wore a hat to disguise her hair color.
"Neat place." Len muttered, glancing around. "But then again, I've never been to an Apple Store before."
"No?" A sweet voice asked behind him. "You haven't?"
Len whipped around to see a young woman wearing an uniform. She almost seemed younger than him. And she spoke perfect Japanese. "Uh… no, I haven't. You speak Japanese?"
She laughed pleasantly. "Yes, I do. I'm originally Japanese but I speak other languages as well." She glanced at Len, Rin, Hana, and Oliver. Since Tianyi was Chinese, she slipped away and blended into the crowd. "You are British, no?"
Oliver nodded cautiously. "Yes I am. But I speak Japanese."
"Oh, I see. Then, shall I speak Japanese for everyone's convenience?" She asked in perfect English. When Oliver gave a nod of consent, she smiled. "I'm Mayu, by the way." She introduced cheerfully. "So, do you all need any help?"
"Just a question, Mayu-san." Rin asked curiously. "Aren't you a little young to be working here?"
"Oh, yes." Mayu laughed amiably. "I'm fourteen. I don't understand much, I was just hired to help foreigners."
"I see." Oliver muttered, before raising his voice. "Say, Mayu-san, do you know if Tonio Brown-san works here?"
What was Oliver playing at? That was so blunt! Len wanted to facepalm. But it could be useful. He carefully watched the girl's reaction. It was subtle, and Len wasn't as experienced as Rin with facial expressions, but he caught a flicker of suspicion flash across the girl's face. However, it disappeared so quickly, he had to wonder if he had just been imagining it.
"Gomen." The girl fidgeted slightly with the hem of her blue shirt. "I'm not authorized to give out names of employees. Say, how do you know him?"
"This is his nephew." Oliver replied smoothly. The kid was better at lying than Hana! But he was pointing at… Len. His mind flashing back to the picture, he realized that Tonio did indeed have cerulean eyes similar to his own. "We're friends of his."
The blonde inspected him carefully, her platinum blond bangs floating over her eyes, masking her expression. It was slightly creeping him out, but Mayu was the best lead that they had. He shoved his bad feelings to the back of his mind.
Mayu sighed. "Does look similar." She admitted. The others let out inaudible sighs of relief. "Alright, follow me. Tonio-san went out to a restaurant for his lunch break. It's easy to get lost in these streets so shall I show you where?" She asked, almost too eagerly.
But again, the others didn't notice anything and Len decided to ignore it. He did however, catch Tianyi's eyes in the crowd, telling her to secretly follow them so they can corner the god. With a small nod of acknowledgement, the Writing Demi melted into the crowd once more, awaiting the next move.
"Sure." Len nodded, returning his attention to Mayu.
"Alright. Let's go now. It's my lunch break anyway." She called over her shoulder, incomprehensible Chinese words streaming from her mouth, patiently awaiting an answer. When she received it, she smiled, a smile that to the naked eye was genuine, turning to the four foreigners. "Shall we?"
…
Mayu lead them through the district. No matter how he looked at it, Len's bad feeling was growing by the second. The area that they were in became more and more secluded, though the city was usually bustling with people. (A/N: Idk if there's actually a secluded place in Pudong. Don't take everything for granted.)
The other three seemed to be getting the same feeling. Eventually, Oliver spoke up. "Hey, Mayu-san, are you sure-"
There was a quick flash and Mayu was now holding Oliver by his collar, sneering at the frozen Demi. "You all sure are gullible."
"What-?" Hana stumbled back, in a defensive position. The two colonels quickly leapt in front of the defenseless Jewel Demi, already drawing their weapons.
"Lightning/Spring!" The pins quickly morphed. Rin was immediately poised, bow drawn and silver arrows nocked. Len bent his knees, the gold of his sword reflecting the noon sun.
"Ooh," Mayu cooed tauntingly. "Look, two COTs. You two do realize if you move I'll slit his-"
Suddenly Oliver reappeared besides Len and Rin, wincing at his neck. He hadn't brought his kendo sword. Mayu, on the other hand, was shocked, almost dropping the dagger she held at hand. "How-" She was flabbergasted.
"The Money God is also the God of Thievery," Oliver taunted as he moved behind Rin and Len. "And thieves are known for being able to escape quickly and in the nick of time."
"Nice." Len snorted, half-amused, half-wary of Mayu.
"You're a COF, aren't you?" Rin asked, narrowing her eyes, aiming.
"So what if I am-"
"K-N-I-F-E." A clear voice sounded above them. A Chinese girl dropped behind Mayu, holding the knife to her neck. The last six months had taught them all some wicked skills. "Speak. Answer the Colonel's question."
"Damn." Mayu hissed, a bit of panic laced in her voice. "The Writing Demi knows materialization?"
"Answer." Tianyi ordered with a slight strain in her voice.
"Fine." The girl spoke calmly, though her eyes were darting around frantically. "I am Mayu Usano (A/N: Last name of her rabbit), sixteen years old. Third year of COF. Daughter of God of Transport."
"The God of Transport is evil?" Rin questioned Len, surprised. He shrugged.
"Why do you think that there are crashes and accidents all the time?" Mayu snorted. "Because of this, I have a natural talent for languages. And…" She then smirked maliciously. "I also realized that using materialization tires you out."
Tianyi let out a cry of surprise and pain as she was kicked roughly in the ribs (with heels, ooh.), skidding across the ground with no time to react. Her head mercilessly banged on the side of a building, causing her to crumple to the ground. Mayu tossed the knife aside in exchange for a decorated axe, which seemed to be her more preferred weapon. She raised it at Tianyi, but Rin shot a quick arrow at her, which she easily dodged with a smirk.
"Too easy." She laughed, advancing on the crippled girl who was fading to unconsciousness.
Len gritted his teeth, but they were too far away. He knew this as he raced forward. The axe was quickly descending on the defenseless girl-
And it was easily knocked out of her hands.
"Can't someone enjoy lunch without a fight ruining it?"
…
Phew. Finally this one is longer and at more normal length, the usual eight pages.
I like the end of this chapter. The first part, meh.
Anyway, it's up now, so hope you all enjoy it.
This is going to be the fifth and last posted this week. There might be one early next week, but it depends on my mood, ne?
CELEBRATE THE TEN CHAPTER MILESTONE!
Thanks for sticking with me all this way, minna-san.
Look for the next chapter!
~Hana