I'm not particularly good with other people. Never have been, probably never will be, unless I force a smile onto my face and bear interaction with others. It's not exactly that I'm bad in social situations, but more that I don't really know what to say after the traditional stock questions and responses have run themselves dry, and our own personal interest is shown for what it is, not much more than an act to get us out of there after long enough. Feign interest, ask your questions, compliment "how tall they've grown" where applicable, hug is optional assuming you know the receiving party, rinse, repeat, die inside. Real simple. Real effective. Real awkward. Don't get me started on new faces, either, because then you've gotta break the ice, and that can be hard when the boat you're stranded on isn't exactly built to take you through the Northwest Passage, and just like the Northwest Passage, Canadians are the only people who know what they're doing in this situation. Or maybe I'm making comparisons to dumb shit in order to make my metaphor work. Who knows? If I didn't say that, I probably would've made a reference to some comedy sketch I saw once where the guy suggested to end a conversation by unbreaking the ice, by peppering in a little "death waits for us all" as you walk away from your new friend. Or maybe Canadians are the ones that put us here to begin with. Never did trust them.
Basically, having Takamoto breathing down my neck for all of the five minutes we had been exploring wasn't what I would call a very enjoyable experience, which was impressive considering I was taller than him by a significant margin. We more or less explored in silence, coming across nothing but a set of stairs that took us down to what I so eloquently worded as "some fucking parking garage." The exact scope of the ferry we were on was really put into perspective here, as its size let us know it was a normal-sized ferry and that I expected nothing and was still disappointed. Nonetheless, it was still a parking garage, a long paved tube of a pathway down to a light coming from outside on both ends, the two of us being about in the middle. The ceiling arched over us, a light grey with a few light fixtures embedded inside of it. There was even a white van a good thirty feet away, probably just for extra detail, but I figured it would be beneficial to check anyways.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Takamoto caught me as I was fiddling with the van's shotgun side handles, seeing if it was unlocked. "Do you really think you should be messing with stuff you don't know anything about?"
I looked over at him, not letting go of the sedan. "Think about our situation real quick, and then ask me that again." I jiggled the handle, and as expected, the door wouldn't budge, letting me know to move on down the line.
"I mean, I suppose you're right, but I don't know how I feel about messing with other people's stuff. Is it really worth trying to break into someone's vehicle like this?"
I inhaled, closed my eyes, and let out a sharp breath.
"…Yeah. Yeah, it is."
"But what if it really is someone else's property? That's breaking and entering, y'know," he said, brow furrowed, as he came closer to me and the van. I had looped around to the other side by then.
"This is all just a hunch, but I highly doubt an ominous fuckin' vehicle like this is gonna end up belonging to some rando who just coincidentally happened to be on this boat with us," I explained my rationality while tugging on the door, peering over the top of the van at him. "I dunno about you, but I haven't seen anyone else yet, so maybe just let me do what I wanna do how I wanna do it, yeah? This is a boat, not Shibuya or some shit, we would've seen someone else by now."
"We've only been looking for, what, five minutes?" His voice cracked.
I moved to the last door. "If they exist, whatever they're doing is all well and good, but I really just wanna go home, I'll be honest-" I cut myself off as, after trial-and-erroring every other viable option, the driver's side door opened up, to my surprise and Takamoto's terror as he ran over to join me. When I leaned inside, I realized that looking through the windows didn't do it justice; it was basically untouched, pristine, like whoever brought it here intended it solely to be a prop, and might not have even driven it. The leather had no wear, the dashboard and flooring were all spotless, it was basically the perfect escape car. Shame we were still on the ocean.
There was, however, one thing that caught my eye. Takamoto's too, apparently, since he seemed just as apprehensively intrigued as I was careless and apathetic when I removed the white strip of paper that was sitting face-down on the seat.
In sloppy, scribbled text, it read something.
the show must go on
"What the fuck is this?" I asked in exclamation, extending my arms. "That's vague and ominous. Doubt it even means anything."
"The show must go on?" Takamoto repeated beside me. "I don't… I don't like this, Rei. That's gotta mean something. Creepy notes always mean something, right?"
I shoved the slip into my pocket as he anxiously fidgeted with his tie, carelessly balling the paper up. "Yeah, it means the show must go on, duh," I said, a bit more mockingly than intended. "I don't think there's anything else in here, so we should probably head back upstairs, yeah?"
He said nothing, nodding in agreement instead, following even closer behind me than he had been beforehand while we climbed back up the stairwell. Though not entirely scary, more uncomfortable than anything, mostly due to Koromichi being Koromichi at that particular moment, the entire situation did seem a bit weird to me, I'll be honest. Well, obviously it was weird. We were on a boat. I didn't ask for this. Neither did he, clearly.
Little bitch.
No, that's rude. I shouldn't be thinking that way. Fear is a reasonable reaction to what is essentially a kidnapping, even though fear is pretty fucking stupid if you ask me. Fight or flight? Be a Hawlucha, who cares. Do both. Drive-by, maybe with the van back downstairs. Beat the shit out of the captain of the boat. Takamoto wouldn't do that, and that's fair. I've known him for all of ten minutes, I know how these things work. But it still seemed weird to me. He said he was a horror author, right? That he authors horror? Shouldn't he be used to this stuff?
Turns out he was wondering about me too.
"Hey, Rei?" he spoke up after we had reached the top of the stairs again. "Can I ask you something?"
I turned to him, my gaze meeting his a bit further down. "Well, it's impeding our search, and you technically already have, but, uhh, sure, shoot."
"Actually," he laughed, sheepishly, indicating nothing good was gonna come from the question being asked, "it's about that."
"You stopping our exploration?" I crossed my arms and raised my brow simultaneously. "Better not be pulling some shit on me, Takamoto."
His eyes widened. "No, no, it's not that! Not at all! You said, umm… you said "shoot", and I know that's a responsive statement letting me know it's okay to ask what I wanted to, but I wanted to know if, uhh-"
"Oh, for the love of god, Takamoto, get to the point already, you're dragging out the word count."
"Look," he started, seemingly reaffirming himself, rubbing his forehead, "you said your talent was marksman, and I was thinking about with how you're dressed, it just clicked in my head that… I just wanna know what 'marksman' actually entails, Rei. You're not afraid of the situation at hand, and I know I'm not exactly a beacon of confidence, but I'm just weary is all."
It was at that point my thought process came to a grinding halt. I could feel my expression melt from one of apathy to a sheer blank slate, and I'm not really sure why it did that. Maybe it was the suddenness of it all, or it might have been that one unreasonably sadistic little part of my brain wanted to drive my fist through his face and out the back of his skull, but I mostly just stood there and let it all sink in.
"Y-you don't have to answer if you don't want to, Rei, it's fine," he drew back, clearly scared of the outcome, but still catching on to the grip I was slowly losing. "I was just curious is all."
I blinked and shook my head. "I… I have good aim. Th-that's all. I don't wanna talk about it, oka-"
"Hello? Is someone there?"
Takamoto joined me in having frozen where he stood.
"We know you're there, no sense in hiding from us," they called out again. The voice was male, deeper than Takamoto's, but I was so preoccupied in the fact that we weren't alone that I barely even noticed Takamoto clutching his chest. So much for being a master of horror.
I grabbed his other arm and dragged him forward, towards the bow of the ship. The windowed walls curved forward, showing off the murky, grey waters and the identically coloured sky, as well as a few more rows of off-green, chairs but what was more important was the people.
People.
Other humans.
Halle-fucking-lujah.
As Takamoto brought himself back to reality, I took the time to look the two over. The man stood beside a younger girl, fairly taller than her, contrasting each other in an almost yin and yang scenario. He looked somewhat annoyed with the fact that I was sizing him up, really. Shaggy, brown hair and sky blue eyes under furrowed brows combined with a dress shirt and rolled-up sleeves made him look almost too much like an antagonistic version of Takamoto. His evil twin or something. I forced the laughter at that thought to stifle, since he probably would've tried to fight me if he knew I was laughing at him. I'll throw hands. Square up.
"Are you just gonna stand there, or…?" he chided, prompting me to approach, like a campy Puff main and I was playing Pikachu. No one's gonna get that joke.
"Calm down, Hakaru, just give them time," the girl beside him mumbled, yawning mid-sentence. "And if you don't, I've got an IV stand and I'm not afraid to use it." And, for what it was worth, she was justified in it, as if I had any reason to deny it. She was horribly pale, visibly using it to keep herself standing, and wearing a hospital gown at that, covered in small, teal dots. Long black hair under a sleeping cap of the same colour only helped to point out her reddened eyes and white slippers. Basically, either her drip was getting her high or she needed to go the fuck to sleep.
I blinked, bringing myself out of analyzing mode. "She said your name was Hakaru?"
Supposedly-Hakaru rolled his eyes. "You don't know me? God, some people," he muttered indignantly, extending his hand. I shook it, coming into contact with the cold metal of rings on a few of his fingers, accentuating the slight hint of regret for deciding to interact with him ever so slightly more. "I'm Hakaru Kitanai, the world-famous Ultimate Crime Scene Investigator, though I guess you're too stupid to recognize that, hmm?"
Hakaru Kitanai
Ultimate Crime Scene Investigator
"You must be fun at parties," I snarked, to which he scoffed in clear disappointment. I wiped my hand down the side of my pants.
Takamoto sighed, kneading at his forehead again. "I'm sorry, Hakaru, Rei is just like this," he said, not looking at me. "I'm Koromichi Takamoto, by the way. Ultimate Horror Author. And, for what it's worth, I've heard of you."
Kitanai's expression lightened up immediately. "Finally, someone with taste…"
"And I'm Rei Matsukaze," I cut in, not exactly as interested in saving face as I was getting out of there. "Marksman."
"It's nice to meet you, Rei," the girl leaning on the IV stand spoke up, her grey eyes peering up at me. "I apologize for Hakaru, he is also 'like this.' We woke up here together, too, presumably the same way as you and Koromichi here. And my name is Vivian Fawkes, I'm the Ultimate Patient."
Vivian Fawkes
Ultimate Patient
"Patient? That why you got an IV drip?" I asked her, figuring she'd be a better source of information than Kitanai.
"Yes, it's pretty self-explanatory," she laughed to herself, followed by a brief coughing fit. "But I'm fine. Just a bit sick is all. It's nothing, except it's a lot, and when I say I'm a bit sick, I mean it's a miracle I'm not dead."
I nodded with a somewhat confused understanding. "Figures you wouldn't go with a handshake like Kitanai, then."
"You're catching on faster than he did…"
I scratched the back of my neck, moving my hand under my slate grey hair. "Had a feeling. Oh, uhh, have you two found anyone else around here? Takamoto and I basically got nowhere about it, bar you two, so this is kinda a lucky break."
"Yes, yes, there are others up on the top deck," she explained, with Takamoto and Kitanai turning to join our conversation, presumably after hearing their names. Not very complex. "You should probably go meet up with them…"
"Thanks, Fawkes." I turned tail towards the port side of the boat and waved my hand, "C'mon, Takamoto, lets get going."
Dead air. Like the moment between firing and hitting your target, apprehension was killer. It was almost awkward, really. I had stopped moving when I realized he wasn't following, instead keeping behind with Kitanai and Fawkes.
"Takamoto? You good?"
"Rei," he choked out, "I… I think I-I'm gonna stay here. Please don't be upset, alright?"
"Huh? Why? And why would I be upset?" I placed my hand on my hip.
He came forward, closer, probably just to close the gap for the sake of not reigniting the face-punching aura I had shown him earlier. "Because, you… you scare me, Rei, alright? I'm just throwing it out there, you scare me, especially with earlier and your refusal to go into detail, and contrary to popular belief, I'm not really good with fear. No hard feelings, it's just… I dunno." He was holding his hands up by now.
I wasn't really sure how to respond. No ill will was showing itself, and for good reason. In hindsight, I wasn't exactly great towards him. Amazing how people can shift their opinions towards you in a mere twenty-five hundred words. But still, I more or less just shrugged it off, growing increasingly more uncomfortable as I stood there. "I… umm, al… alright? I guess I can't dictate what you do…?"
If silence could kill, Fawkes would have dropped dead for multiple reasons right then and there. Impulse won over, convincing my legs to turn back and keep going the way I was, and faster than I should admit. You know those scenarios that you lie awake in bed, your brain replaying over and over in a desperate attempt to remind you how badly you fucked up? That was certainly the newest instalment. Every step I took to the top deck was more confident than the last as I regained my composure, coming out to exactly what I had expected.
It was as shitty outside as it looked. Wind was barely blowing, wasn't raining, and it wasn't even cold. Just shitty nonetheless. Might've been my irritated attitude leaking into perception, like some d20 roll I failed on purpose, but I stand by it. I leaned over the bar to stare down at the frothy whitewater the boat had been generating. Jumping in was tempting. I already prefaced that I'm bad with other people, why not share my other thoughts too?
I stepped back and drew a deep breath, concentrating. Fawkes said there were others up here. Probably up front. Lets not fuck this one up.
The walk was short, but assuring. I needed the breather was all. There were, in fact, more people strewn about the metal benches. Two were talking with each other, one was sprawled out, lying down with her legs kicked up, and a young boy was standing by the edge, possibly on watch.
"Hey," I called out to the small group, followed by quickly clearing my throat, "are you guys Ultimates too?"
The small boy noticed me first, running over to me, loudly stomping along the way. He was scrawny, with a darker complexion and uneven brown hair to match, smiling wide, and his eye wider, like a puppy who doesn't understand the concept of time, or fashion, given that he was wearing a long, grey coat with a beige faux-fur hood under a blue t-shirt, khaki shorts, and a motherfucking eye patch.
'Eye' wasn't a typo.
Like, Jesus. I know we're on a boat but you're not a pirate. I'm expecting Johnny Depp to show up at this rate. Good god.
"Uhh, hey, kid, what's up?" I asked, slower than I should've, still attempting to comprehend his fashion choices. I decided to look down at myself as a reminder that I was wearing a tank top and what was basically a jumpsuit. I'm not one to talk.
"Hello, miss! It's such a nice day out, isn't it? It's good to meet you, since we haven't before! I'm Ali Abbasi, the Ultimate Tour Guide! This is awfully exciting, isn't it? Perfect scenario for an adventure, wouldn't you say?" he grabbed my hand and pulled me along, way stronger than I had expected from him.
Ali Abbasi
Ultimate Tour Guide
"Woah, kid, slow down, you're gonna hurt yourself," I interrupted right as we reached the rest of the group, shaking myself free from his abnormal grip. "Or me, for that matter. You nearly stepped on my feet."
Abbasi looked down at my bare feet, completely unaware of the fact that I had been, but for what it's worth, I had been so preoccupied with figuring out what the fuck was going on I hadn't taken much note in that detail either. Still, stomping around in boots versus the pale soles of my feet was not something I much felt like dealing with. "Oh! I'm sorry, miss, I didn't see that! I hope I didn't hurt you at all! I just love meeting new people is all, so I was excited to greet you!"
Yeah. Figured with the eye patch.
"It's fine," I reassured him, suddenly finding myself in front of the aforementioned two, still sitting on their own bench. "So, uhh…" I shoved my hands into my pockets, not really sure what to say. "I'm Rei. I'm a marksman. What's up?"
Of the duo, the girl spoke up first. Like nearly everyone else, her hair was dark brown but pulled up into a ponytail, call it variety. Her skin tone was similar to Abbasi's, although her clothes were much more manageable, also known as not insane, in just a white shirt with grey stripes, a long blue skirt and a jean jacket. She gazed up at me, dull meeting ice.
"Rei, was it? Are you familiar with the black-legged kittiwake?"
I blanked. "Uhh… n-no? I just said I'm a marksman."
"Oh." She paused. "I thought you would've had a bit of knowledge regarding bird species, if that's your talent. Guess not. I'm Mishelle, by the way. Mishelle Vela. I'm, umm, the Ultimate Ornithologist."
Mishelle Vela
Ultimate Ornithologist
"Miss Mishelle knows a lot about birds!" Abbasi chimed back in, literally jumping when the conversation went silent, even though it had only been a few seconds. "The black-legged catawake is native to northern sea regions, like the Bering Strait and coastal areas of North America and Europe. I can tell you more about it if you want, Miss Rei. My tour is only $8!"
"It's pronounced kittiwake," Vela muttered under her breath. "But, uhh, yeah, he's right. We've been trying to pin down where we are… well, most of us. Dmitri's a veterinarian, so he had some insight, and Ali's good with geography, but that's where it kinda ends."
That was when it occurred to me that the guy beside her had said nothing the entire time. He seemed content merely listening to Abbasi shill out his business, and, frankly, he had more patience than I did. In fact, his straw blonde hair and white button-down shirt and tie, albeit one covered in dogs, made him look like, as I unconsciously put it, "inverted Takamoto."
"What did you call me?" he asked, and so calmly that it honestly kinda frightened me. I maintained my sorta-casual stance and shrugged it off as "nothing, nothing," but that point stuck ever so slightly. In fact, although I doubted he was older than me, he even had a goatee. Huh.
"Please stop staring at the goatee," he continued. I instead began to stare at the floor. "Well, I suppose if I'm being forced into speaking, I might as well introduce myself. Dmitri Rudov, Ultimate Veterinarian."
Dmitri Rudov
Ultimate Veterinarian
"Oh, cool. So, we're up north?" I questioned, since they were the only ones with any feasible answer.
"Pretty much. Can't really determine much else, since the kittiwake were the only gulls we spotted, and no other birds would be this far out," Vela explained. "Though, if you're not busy, which I doubt, considering the circumstances, and just trying to meet everyone, you, umm… might as well get to know Arara."
She pointed over at the girl, separate from their small group, who had been lying on the benches. On one hand, I didn't want to admit I was trying to ignore her, but on the other, I was trying to ignore her. From a distance, she looked intimidating. Like a sentient eggplant.
"Good luck," Rudov nearly snorted out.
I bit my lip and approached her, slowly, as if I was sneaking up on a sleeping lion that also happened to look like a bundle of grapes. Seriously, though, I don't know what the hell I was looking at. From above, she gave the impression of if someone spilled paint on the Queen of Hearts from Alice In Wonderland, and then tried to use her as a canvas and royally fucked up. She was wearing some weird-ass dress that more or less looked like a hot dog stand got in an accident, with a yellow corset and a red skirt. Just kinda hurt to look at.
"Hey, get up," I stated rather bluntly.
"Nah. You're blocking my sun," the girl lying on a fucking metal bench complained.
"It's overcast?" I stuck my hand over her head, casting a bigger shadow than I suppose she thought she had over me.
She opened them, showing a sickening yellow-brown, hatred burning behind them. "Do you have a problem?"
"Yeah, I'm interacting with you," I snarked, probably unwarranted.
No. No, I was justified.
"Wow, fucking rude," she whined, standing up. Though I was pretty sure she only matched up because of the yellow stilettos she was wearing, we matched up in height uncomfortably well, finding it her right to get up in my face and stare me down. I had crossed my arms, knowing full well that the others were watching our silent argument in full force, but my poker face easily beat out her straining, makeup-soaked attempt. "God, what the fuck are you? I could hardly focus with that nasty-ass scar, that's not fair!"
"I'm Rei. I'm a marksman. You are?"
She scoffed, adjusting the crown on her head that I hadn't seen before and definitely lost my shit at internally. "Arara Inagaki. Ultimate Stock Investor. Fuck off."
Arara Inagaki
Ultimate Stock Investor
Maybe you're gonna be the one that saves me, but I think I'd rather die. Either way, I easily learned to take Inagaki's words to heart and left the scene, fully aware that the birdwatching crew was in total shock at my lack thereof. Deciding it was about time I went back inside and far away from her, I descended the stairs and found myself back on the port side of the ship. I had a feeling it was best to stay away from the bow, so I continued down the path to the stern, coming across a rather non-descript gift shop. There were a few shelves that were lined with a variety of travel objects, like blank mugs and a teddy bear that I'm pretty sure didn't have a shopping tag on it anywhere. But, most importantly, I heard people talking in the back of the store, and I rationalized that my track record with people today was so great that I should totally continue it.
"Hello?" I called out into the small shop. "Is anyone there? I'm Rei Matsukaze, Ultimate Marksman? I say that like you'd know."
There was a noisy gasp from exactly where I expected it to come from "Yeah! Hi! We're back here, hold on!" a female voice replied excitedly, quickly running out front to meet me. "Oh my god, you're so cool! You look like a vigilante! Are you a vigilante? You said marksman, right? Yeah?"
Safe to say, the girl was insane. Or at least hyperactive. Her eyes weren't dark blue, or blue, or whatever, but instead her hair was, also in a ponytail, with bangs that grazed her crazy eyes. Not crazy, just gold. Y'know, maybe. Though, the printed t-shirt with "POW!" comically written on it and a bright yellow sports coat might've argued against. It was a bit hard to tell with her.
"Umm, n-no?" I had to think my answer through and I don't know why.
"Well, it's still nice to meet'cha, Rei! I'm Lilith Mary Tudor!" she planted her fists on her hips as another girl, much calmer, I might add, came up behind her. "Ultimate Comic Book Author extraordinai- Jesus fucking Christ, Armadillo! You scared me!" Tudor jumped out of her pose and probably would've exited her skin if given the opportunity.
Lilith Mary Tudor
Ultimate Comic Book Author
"I just walked up behind you, Lilith. There's not much space for me to go," she chuckled. "Anyways. Hi."
I took a short moment to wrap my head around the display of whatever-the-fuck-that-was.
"...Hey."
The other girl, apparently named… Armadillo, as Tudor had just screamed, was largely unassuming. She had curly, thick burgundy hair and bright magenta eyes, which, while typically impossible, I'd take it over blue at this point. A purple hoodie, blue and white striped tank top, and pink skirt were mostly it, albeit with a pair of black and white headphones around her neck as well. Simple but effective, I guess.
"She spoiled the whole nickname thing already, but I'm Mikuru Kubota, the Ultimate Speedrunner. I play video games really fast. That's about it. You can call me Armadillo, by the way, because that's my screen name."
Mikuru Kubota
Ultimate Speedrunner
I scratched the back of my head, trying in vain to get a thought in, before Tudor inserted herself once again. "Yeah! Armadillo's really good at video games! Like, really good! But I asked her if she's ever run any superhero games and she said no! Can you believe that?"
I scratched a bit harder. "I guess not? And I think I'll stick with Kubota, thanks."
"That's fine," Kubota agreed, giving a patient smile. "Lilith's right though, modesty aside. I'm pretty good at video games. Do you play any, Rei?"
"Ehh, not really, no," I replied. "Used to when I was younger, but sorta fell off."
"You should! They're great!" Tudor chipped in again. I could've sworn at the rate she was going, she was gonna blow out her voice.
"Well." Kubota simply stated, definitely catching on to the fact that Tudor was rupturing my eardrums. "You're probably looking for the others, right?"
"Yeah, you kinda read my mind. Are they around here?" I asked, as if she didn't know. She reached out and pointed down the hall.
"Food court, just down there. I think me and Lilith are gonna stay here a bit longer. We'll see you if not?"
I nodded, with not much else to say. "I suppose so."
As they waved me off and resumed whatever it was they had been up to, I shoved my hands back in my pockets again. My fingers fidgeted around with the slip I had found earlier, only one thought able to stay firmly in my mind.
These people are fucking weird.
I'M SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG
AAAA