Chapter 22
People like to stare…
Yuuma glared as he heard their whispers and pointed out to him, apparently wearing a mask makes his stand out a little more than anticipated. "Damn people…" he muttered.
"You get use to it," sighed Jason.
It caught his attention oddly. "People stared at you too?"
He nodded. "I look like Zombieman, doesn't help I'm his clone." He whispered the last part. But he was stunned to hear that news from Jason. Perhaps there is more to him than he realized. Yuuma didn't really care to get to know Luna's friends, yet he found out that perhaps they share something in common.
Yuuma forced a smile. "At least you can be proud of that…"
Jason smirked. "Oh yeah, be proud that I am a clone of a man who can never die, and feel the weight of his ambitions on my shoulders for all the things he couldn't do when he was human… yeah, no pressure huh?"
He began to drop his guard around Jason, there was a kinship there and he was starting to enjoy it.
Luna insisted on this particular mall in City Z, it would be close to home in case things get a little intense, but there was a great food court to go to. "Believe it or not, our older brothers Draven and Goliath are already here too, they are getting us lunch!" she explained.
"What, why are they here?" asked Tempest.
"Well…" Luna then suddenly paused. "I think they wanted to keep an eye on us, they still do with Eclipsa and I from time to time. They are protective of us since we are their younger sisters… just as we are protective of you."
Pythan smirked. "It's true," he said and snickered. "I can't wait though… human food, I had popcorn when I was smaller… but this seems more exciting!"
They arrived at the food court, there was a massive table usually meant to seat many people having lunch, but was saved just for them. Draven set out the last of the food but there was plenty to chose from. "Hey, you made it!" Goliath called. "We got a bit of everything for you guys to try, whatever you don't like, I'll eat" he explained.
"Goliath will eat anything, same with Draven," whispered Eclipsa.
Yuuma took a seat along with his brothers, he was given a plate with bits of everything, but didn't quite know what to make of it. "This is food?" he asked.
"Human fast food, made for those in a hurry or for those who can't bother to cook. People don't hunt their food all the time, some don't even hunt at all. But take a taste and try it." Explained Draven.
He was uncertain until he saw Jason dive in. He was shoving various things into his mouth, it was a mix mash of different meats, veggies and breads. Yuuma was uncertain until he took a deep breath and tried it. Yet before he could take a bite, he heard Tempest proclaim. "WOW!"
His mouth was full of something, but then, he began to shove more and more into his face without hesitation. "Chew Tempest! You can't swallow things whole in this state!" whispered Akira.
Yuuma was going for it now, he took a bite of meat, veggies and a strange white sauce wrapped in thin bread, but the flavors that followed amazed even him. He watched on as everyone's eyes widened to the taste and sensation that came across their pallets. They ended up clearing the table without anyone turning their nose up at anything.
"This… is flavor?" asked Yuuma.
"Sort of," said Misty. "This is cheap food, if you want something REALLY good it has to be made and it needs to take time to cook, I'm going to be taking a cooking class in the city soon, a world renown chief is doing a few courses. Rumor has it that he kicks out people throughout the whole lesson if they are not paying attention or refuse to follow his orders."
"Cooking huh?" muttered Tempest. "That would be an interesting skill to have… maybe I'll join you."
"Ooo, I would like that" Misty said and appeared to have blushed.
"Whoa… what are four hot ladies doing at the freak show?"
Yuuma's mood instantly soured upon hearing the voices of strangers. He turned and saw a small group of teenage boys staring at the table, but their eyes were on his sister, Angie, Conna and Misty. One grew brash enough to place his arms over the Athena and Misty. "How about you ditch the losers and come with us, we'll have some fun with those water balloons you two got!"
The teen was suddenly wrenched away. Goliath kept a firm hand on the guy's shoulder, but the pressure he must have cast upon it made the kid crumple to his knees screaming for help. "GAH! LET GO! YOU'RE GRIP, IT'S LIKE A VICE!"
"Damn right it is." Goliath said in a not too caring of a tone. "Now, the way you spoke just now to my sister and a friend of hers… I will not tolerate. I suggest you apologize this instant. Also… don't call my siblings and friends freaks… got it, freak?" he demanded.
He finally released him, the guy was quick to crawl across the ground, back to his friends. "You ain't so tough! Just because you're the son of Garou, it means jack shit! You're nothing more than monsters! Monsters with human privileges!" he protested.
"Is that all you got?" asked Akira. "If it is, get lost."
The teens retreated, but not before muttering under their breaths.
Yuuma was stunned though, and also confused at the same time. When Goliath sat back down, he turned to him and asked. "Why didn't you hurt him more?"
Goliath paused to the question. "What's the point?" he asked.
"He obviously didn't learn his lesson, why didn't you hurt him more?" Yuuma asked again.
Goliath smiled. "I had the power to do more damage, is that what you are saying to me?" Yuuma nodded. "Yet why did I hold back? I would only be proving him right."
He paused to his brother's answer, not quite understanding it the least bit. "I'm confused…"
"He called him a monster, if Goliath continued to harm him, without worry of those around, he would only come across as a monster to the people watching what is happening." Said Bo. "Dad taught us this lesson to when someone hassled him. He could hurt someone easily, we are all capable of doing such a thing. A monster would without hesitation or fear of consequences to their actions. It takes far greater strength and resolve to move beyond the issue than to force your strength to make the other submit."
Yuuma sighed to it all. "What's so wrong about that?"
Goliath sighed.
Yuuma suddenly couldn't move!
He was forced to the table and was unable to control himself. "I'm doing this to you now." Goliath announced. "This is me forcing my strength on you, how do you feel?"
"I… can't move! Why!?" he demanded.
"I can leave you here for as long as I want to, we could go about the mall and you would be stuck in place. I could also force more pressure on you, making your body feel as if it is being crushed. I could ask anything of you in order for me to stop this, couldn't I?"
The pressure grew, Yuuma managed to say yes. "But this isn't how to resolve an issue isn't it? I could do this to any person on this earth, forcing my will upon those to get what I want without concern for those under this stress. Is this fair? Do you like being treated like this? Would people fear me more knowing I can do this at any time to gain what I desired?" he asked.
Yuuma froze to the question, then, the pressure was lifted.
"It wouldn't matter now would it? If I did that to the teenager, he wouldn't change his ways, he would only fear me. He would tell others what I did, and they will be inclined to believe him, for I can do impossible things. I don't want people to fear me, I want them to respect what I tell them. Using power to get your own way is not the best method to gaining peace to say the least. It may not make much sense to you now, Yuuma. But hopefully it will soon."
He was relieved to be free from the hold, he sort of understood what Goliath was getting at, yet still didn't quite know what to make of it.
With lunch done, Luna insisted on shopping. "You need clothing now!" she said. "Let's find you outfits!"
"If that's the case, Draven and I are heading off. You guys going to be okay?" Goliath asked.
"Fine big bro, just fine," insisted Akira.
As the older brothers left, everyone else got up from the table. Yuuma still wondered what his brother was getting at…
#
In two hours, he was sick of the mall.
Clothing wasn't interesting to him, not to mention, Amai Mask's face appears to be everywhere. People were starting to figure something out as they stared at Rimuru oddly, the whispers followed. "He looks like Amai…"
"But Amai isn't married, he has no children…"
"None that we know of, he's a movie star, he must get any girl he wants! Whose to say there isn't another one of him floating around… he really looks like him."
They made their way out of the mall, the girls bought far more clothing than the boys. Yuuma got a new hoodie for himself, Tempest too. He liked the comfort and was able to hide his face quite well. Yuuma was more interested in the Gothic look, metal spikes and heavy metal t-shirts. However he held back for the moment. They made their way out of the mall when the monster warning system went off.
"Warning, warning, dragon level threat in the area!" the system said.
"Ooo Monsters!" said Luna.
"Can we handle it?" asked Titan.
Luna was interested, she turned to Eclipsa and Akira who nodded in agreement. The beast was coming their way. "Okay, you six are up, aim for the arms and head, take it down fast before anyone gets hurt, got it?" said Akira.
They nodded and rushed in.
Yuuma began to feel his body surge, power he never felt before in his serpent form was starting to course through him limbs, looking to his arms, he was startled to see thick, veins appear under his skin, but he ignored it for now as his siblings divided up. He and Rimuru went low, aiming for the legs, Athena and Yuki went to the side going for the arms. Titan went for the stomach, as Snek taught them. Tempest was somehow able to jump extremely high and aim for the head.
Their fists connected.
The monster didn't have the chance to fight back, as its arms and legs were shattered, its stomach blown out, making a massive hole in his core. Then it's head exploded into gore the moment Tempest's fist came down and forced the beast's head to the pavement!
They weren't even trying and they took it out. But, then they noticed the veins. "Wh… what are these?" asked Rimuru.
"Make them go away!" pleaded Titan.
The triplets were quick to approach them, but were stunned. "Your arms…"
"What's happening to us!" cried Yuuma.
People began gathering, taking photos of the six. "Let's get home first, come on!" Luna called.