Chapter 4: Uncertainty
"Hey, Sanzo," Goku called as the disciples of the God took a road on the riverbank. "When are we going to stop to eat? I'm starving to death, you know."
"Stop complaining like a spoiled brat," Gojyo spoke and roughly ground his fist on Goku's head. "Sit tight and enjoy the view. Okay?"
"Stop grinding on my head, Gojyo!" Goku cried. "And why aren't you even stop bothering me?"
"Bothering you? Of what?" Gojyo asked and grinned. "Oh, I get it. You have a deep crush toward the cutie chef girl, don't you? Let me tell you this, zaru. I'm bloody jealous at you to have such girlfriend."
Goku was struck in embarrassment and stood up to defend himself. "Why are you always…! You…!"
"Well, it's obvious you had been helping her at her restaurant a lot," Gojyo insisted. "Come on, zaru. You certainly have to find a mate someday."
"You foul-mouth ero kappa!" Goku responded and mauled Gojyo in anger. Gojyo did not just sit idle, letting the monkey to fight him, and retaliated.
"This has gone way too much…" Sanzo grumbled in annoyance.
"Heh, it's been a while since they fought like this. Isn't that right, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked. Sanzo could only sigh and focused on the road ahead, ignoring the argument between Goku and Gojyo. "Sanzo," Hakkai called the monk, "about the girl, are you sure you're making the right decision?"
"Though it isn't my idea in the first place," Sanzo grumbled. "I'm very dubious at her unknown ability to control the Evil Sutra. I'm going to investigate it."
"Well, maybe she's the only female to be granted the Sanzo title," Hakkai suggested. "But I think she would make a great opponent of yours, don't you think so Sanzo?"
Sanzo glowered at Hakkai. "What did you say?"
"At least, she isn't a type of girl who would appear from nowhere and ambush us with her assassination technique," Hakkai uttered.
Faraway, Lirin suddenly sneezed. "Eh? Did anyone mention my name?"
Sanzo just grumbled and took a sip of a menthol Salem. "Whatever."
"Sanzo!" Goku called out loud. "Can't you do something? Gojyo's gone too far!"
"Come on, zaru! You like her, but you're too shy to admit it," Gojyo insisted and again ground Goku's head.
"Stop it!" Goku demanded and pulled Gojyo's hair in response.
"Don't you even dare!" Gojyo growled and ground his head even harder.
Sanzo began to lost his patience and withdrew his tessen. "You two… STOP ACTING LIKE ROTTEN PEST!" Then two loud bangs echoed in the nearby bamboo forest, as the priest slammed both Goku's and Gojyo's head with the tessen. "Shut up, or I'll throw the two of you into the river," he warned and sat back.
"Sanzo, you're so mean…!" Goku whined and rubbed a golf ball-sized bump on his head.
"You could become a professional babysitter," Hakkai recommended in sly. "Parents would really appreciate your kindly service, you know."
"Shut up," Sanzo replied in dismay.
x-x-x-x-x
A peaceful silence enveloped the house, as Millia slothfully woke up from her sweet slumber. Yawning and rubbing her sleepy eyes, she turned around ad saw Sammy sleeping soundly beside her. "Still sleeping, huh?" she whispered and softly patted the kitten's head. Almost immediately Sammy was awakened by the pat and growled cutely at the silent assassin. "Awww, you're staring at me. How cute," she uttered and picked up Sammy and lightly kissed his cheek. Sammy purred happily and nudged against her chin, occasionally pawed the blue-strip pajamas she wore. Millia put the kitten on her lap and stroked his petite head. "You're hungry, kitty? How about a bowl of milk for breakfast? I'm sure you'll like it. What do you say?" she suggested. Sammy stared at her eyes deeply for a while before he responded with a meow. Millia giggled and kissed his forehead before jumped off the bed and headed toward the kitchen. Sammy looked at the Russian before he winced and hissed.
"Nobody has dared to treat me like a pathetic!" he growled and shrugged in dismay. "And nobody has offered me a bowl of milk! ARGH! I, the Lord Of The Nibbles, shall make them pay!" Then he frowned, childishly pawing the blanket. "But Millia is different. Oh, I can't resist the radiant smile she always gives after she wakes up. And… and… and… her embrace, oh… how warm and friendly… I wish I could stay in her arms like, forever…" Again, he shook his head and hissed. "Why the heaven am I acting like a weakling? Damn, I've become so different nowadays."
"Kitty, milk for you." Sammy responded and jumped toward the door, where Millia was waiting with a bowl of milk. Slowly she put the bowl near her leg, and like a hunger-struck tiger, Sammy seized the bowl and greedily drank the milk. "Be careful, kitty. You might get chocked," she reminded and patted the kitten.
"At least, this milk tastes great," Sammy thought as he gobbled the milk whole.
It had been three weeks since Millia finally regained her normal life, after enduring so much hardship as an assassin. Now, all she had to do was just to relax and enjoy everything she had. With Sammy accompanying her, she didn't feel very lonely as much as she used to be in her past life.
Yet the reality wasn't as beautiful as one would expect.
A mysterious invitation card reached her home four days ago, and it was anonymously sent to her. She was not only curious, but also doubtful. All of a sudden, her life was bothered by the card which contained nothing but invitation to 'Guilty Gear versus SNK Season 2' and she disliked it. Why all these things had to occur now, when she's about to enjoy this ordinary life?
"Kitty," Millia called Sammy. Sammy stopped drinking the milk and looked up at her. "Do you think I should be involved in this upcoming conflict? Well, I don't say that I'm running away from a battle, but what else can I get from challenging other people? I may not look like someone who upholds justice and protects other people with his sword but refuses to kill…"
At faraway, Kenshin suddenly sneezed, much to the surprise of Kaoru and everybody else. "Oro?"
"…but at least, I know what I'm doing," she spoke, staring into the kitten's eyes. "What do you think, kitty? Should I consider accepting the invitation?" Sammy didn't answer; instead he purred and softly nudged against Millia's leg. Millia couldn't help herself but to smile and picked up Sammy and contently nuzzled his face. "Oh, I wish I could understand you, kitty," she sighed and embraced Sammy close to her body.
"Victory, at last!" Sammy declared in his head, and smugged.
At faraway, yet again, Leon Winchester was observing the scene with his binocular. He roared in anger and madly stomped on the ground. "How dare he! How dare he! Millia's mine! ALL MINE!"
x-x-x-x-x
Once again, Zofeah walked alone; this time, trailing his way through the lush bamboo forest at the outskirt of Shanghai. Already having the invitation delivery settled, he was now heading to the southwest with no apparent destination to reach. Yet he didn't even bother; he needed no such place to stop.
His steps halted. He found himself surrounded by dozens of Robo Kys, all of which were concealed behind bushes. "Someone definitely wasn't included in the invitation list," he muttered.
"STAY_WHEREVER_YOU_ARE." One of the Robo Kys ordered. "YOU_HAVE_BEEN_SURROUNDED. YOU_CANNOT_ESCAPE. PREPARE_YOURSELF." Zofeah just sighed and reached his dragon belt, ready to transform it into arsenal. "THE_BUREAU_WANTS_YOU_TO_MEET_THEM. WE_WILL_DETAIN_YOU_IF_YOU_REFUSE." The Robo Ky spoke.
"Should I consider listening to remotely controlled puppets?" he insisted and slowly opened stance.
"WARNING! SUBJECT_REFUSES_TO_OBEY. EXECUTING_CODE_1124." The Robo Ky immediately leapt toward Zofeah and grappled him. "YOU_MUST_OBEY_US. OR_WE_SHALL_USE_FORCE." The robot demanded.
"That is probably not what I want to hear," Zofeah replied and suddenly cut both the robot's entangling arms. He elbowed Robo Ky's torso and rolled to a safety distance, revealing a pair of kodachi in both his grips. "Allow me to demonstrate." In a blinding speed, Zofeah dashed toward the damaged Robo Ky and slashed its upper body twice, destroying it instantly.
"ERROR! BLUE_SCREEN_OF_DEATH!" As if triggered by action button, all of the Robo Kys jumped form their hiding spots and struck at Zofeah. Zofeah spun the kodachi in his hands and dashed toward the metal knights, cutting and slashing each and every one of the Robo Kys. He changed direction and continued his attacks on the robots.
"RIDE_THE_LIGHTNING!" a Robo Ky shouted and executed the overdrive. Zofeah confronted the lightning ball and easily evaded the overdrive. "YOU_CANNOT_ESCAPE!" the Robo Ky insisted and propelled Ride The Lighting toward Zofeah. The man, however, jumped over the overdrive and landed behind the robot.
"Firefly Kaiten Dance."
In less than seconds, the Robo Ky's body was cut into pieces as Zofeah landed the secret technique onto it. Instantly the robot was destroyed, and Zofeah looked at the remaining Robo Kys, all of them were shocked at the loss of their unit. "Who will be next?" he questioned and opened another stance. All of them reacted by firing dozens of Stun Edges toward Zofeah. He Wild-walked out of the projectiles' range and switched arsenal to a pair of gloves. Immediately he fired torrents of Reppuken at the Stun Edges, canceling all of the projectiles. He landed back on the ground and crossed his arms.
"This encounter should end now," he declared and slammed his palms onto the ground. Robo Kys waited for the following, but nothing came out. Thinking that the move was a feint, they pounced toward Zofeah, but then they suddenly halted midair. "Do you hear," they heard Zofeah speaking from his kneeling position, "the tranquility breeze of the vacuum gale?"
Silence. An eerily calm silence engulfed the entire bamboo forest. All Robo Kys were still suspended in their position, not sure of what was taking place at that time. Zofeah later stood up and put the robe on his body and looked up to the sky. Suddenly a gale wind erupted from the ground and shredded the robots violently, while leaving Zofeah unaffected. "All of you have felt it, now vanish." As he ended the word, all the PWAB Ky replicas imploded into pieces, with nothing left but dry leaves blown away. Zofeah opened steps and began to walk away from the scene, followed by the Siamese cat.
x-x-x-x-x
Lone Wolf SIX was alone at the beach. Sol and Iori had left for dealing with their matters, while Hibiki and Cassandra were stopping at nearby ice-cream stall. He was in deep uncertainty. Already disturbed by the word 'Revolution', he must now investigate who was behind the invitation. Yet he was not sure of where he should start.
"Having problems, aren't you?" Lone Wolf SIX looked at the direction of the question and could only sigh. "What's wrong, Lone Wolf? If you have problems, don't be shy to tell me."
"Why are you here, Omega Rugal?" Lone Wolf SIX questioned the Kaiser. "And how can you survive?"
"It's the fact that I'm immortal, Lone Wolf." Omega Rugal wickedly answered. "And to be invincible means to endure all kinds of challenges, even death."
"Stop talking crap," Lone Wolf SIX demanded. "Look, I've got an issue to deal with, and you're talking to me like you're mocking me."
Omega Rugal merely laughed and spread his arms wide. "Look at me. Do I look like I'm going to mock you?" Lone Wolf SIX hissed in annoyance and suddenly pounced toward the Kaiser. Omega Rugal evaded the punch he landed and countered with a gigantic Kaiser Wave. Lone Wolf SIX retaliated back and punched right through the projectile. "Well, well, well. I'm so surprised to see your talent, Lone Wolf. Perhaps with what you have, we can have a match for the two of us."
"Shut up," Lone Wolf SIX replied. "I'm not in mood to fight anyone. now answer me."
"As you wish." Omega Rugal took out the invitation card and showed it to Lone Wolf SIX. "I came here because of this. I want to know whether you're involved with this invitation." Again, the author winced and shook his head.
"Not again…!" Trying to overcome the pulsing headache, Lone Wolf SIX glowered at Omega Rugal and growled. "I tell you one thing: I don't have any relation with the invitation, and I mean ANY at all. So stop bothering me and leave." The Kaiser just shrugged and put back the invitation in his trench coat and walked away, before he halted and looked back at Lone Wolf SIX.
"I will leave, for now. But remember, we shall meet again. And don't forget about the duel we've promised earlier." Omega Rugal spoke and left. Lone Wolf SIX just stared at the boss before shrugged and looked at the other direction. Idle as he was, he later walked toward the ice-cream stall where Hibiki and Cassandra already awaited.