Hey everybody and welcome back! This is Shoko's story at last, I hope you guys like it.
I do not own 'Adventure Time'.
Enjoy!
Chapter 16
Shoko's Lament
Shoko stretched her arm out a little closer. 'Come on, come on.' As slowly and quietly as possible, she reached into the unsuspecting man's pocket and pulled out a few pieces of silver. 'Score.' The little green girl pocketed her winnings and snuck away. 'Today was a good haul, mom and dad will be happy for sure!' Before going home though, Shoko made her way out of the village and ran deep into the woods. When she made it to the stream she sat down and listened to the sound of the flowing water.
Shoko looked around, waiting for her friend. When there was no sign of her, she pulled out a hunk of mystery meat she stole from the butcher out of her pocket and held it up in the air. Soon after she did, a little, white, tiger cub came crawling out of the forest. Shoko's eyes lit up with excitement, but she kept calm knowing very well that the cub would run away if startled. She showed the cub the meat in her hands, the cub in return eyed the meat hungrily and slowly made her way to Shoko. It was the same ordeal they went through every time Shoko came to visit, the cub was still nervous around the girl it seemed but it had begun to slowly warm up to her. The tiger cub had made it to Shoko's side, it sniffed the meat in her hand and ate it right of her palm. Shoko giggled when the furry white cub licked her hand clean.
After the cub was finished, she (at least, Shoko assumed it was a she) crawled over to the stream for a drink. Shoko decided to do the same, she looked into the water's reflective surface and a little girl no older than seven looked back at her with yellow eyes. Her black hair was messy and unkempt and the old potato sack she wore was getting dirty, but it had enough sewn in pockets to hide all the things she stole for her parents. Shoko cupped her hands in the water and brought it up to her mouth for a drink, half the day gone and it was the only thing she had put into her stomach.
Once Shoko had herself a good drink she sat back down by the water's edge, she was in no hurry to return to the village. The dirty collection of mud huts and animal pens might've seen better days at one point in time but nowadays it was where the poor and desperate came to live, people that had nowhere else to go because they couldn't afford it. The only doctor the village could ever remember having had died years ago from an illness and the closest thing to a constable they had was the bath boy that came to collect the village's protection money. The Bath Boy Gang basically ran the village, every now and then they came to collect the protection money that was due. Whoever couldn't pay up in time was publicly executed in front of the village, Shoko remembered watching Kyle the Cobbler as the Bath Boy Gang drowned him in a bathtub for everyone to see. The gang also came into town every once and a while to collect anything they figured would be a nice addition to their hangout-hideout; decorations, soaps, food, drinks, servants,… courtesans. No one dared oppose them when they came to 'confiscate' these things.
The little white cub crawled onto Shoko's lap, it began to purr as Shoko stroked it's fur. "I should really give you a name." said Shoko. "How about… Joice, 'cause I'm like, seventy percent sure you're a girl." The tiger cub's ear twitched. "You like the name? Good, 'cause that's what I'm going with." Shoko patted her pockets to make sure all the coin she stole was still there. "Man, today was a really good day. I bet mom and dad are going to be so proud, they might even say so. They've never done that before."
Shoko looked up at the sky, she watched as the treetops danced to the wind's choreography. "Someday, I think I'm gonna leave the village, maybe see more of the world. I've heard about a vampire who's also a rockstar, a wizard that lives in the mountains and talks to penguins and summons blizzards, I've even heard of a lady who can bring candy to life! That would be pretty cool to see huh?" Joice gave no response.
Shoko frowned and looked back in the direction of her village. "But… I don't want to leave mom and dad, they love me. Even if they never tell me, I know it's true because I love them." she looked down at the cub. "It wouldn't be fair to leave them, would it?"
Joice began licking her paw.
"Yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be thinking about leaving them, I once asked mommy if we could go exploring someday and she locked me in my room. So I guess exploring is bad, or maybe I'm just not allowed to do it." Shoko's eyes widened. "Oh dang, I should get going!" the cub jumped off of her as Shoko stood up. "Bye Joice, see you soon!" she said to the tiger cub before running off.
The cub watched Shoko as she ran towards her home, then it walked back into the forest.
Shoko immediately stopped running as soon as she made it to her village, she began to walk slowly and steadily with her head down. It was best to draw as little attention to yourself as possible in the village, something Shoko learned a while back when a boy larger than she was attacked her and stole her favorite dolly and the five silver coins she had on her. Shoko came home that day covered with bruises but as soon as she told her parents she lost the five coins they locked her in her room without dinner, didn't even give her anything for her bruises. 'The price of failure.' as her parents always told her.
Shoko eventually made it to her house, another unimpressive hut identical to the many others. Even though she lived here, Shoko still knocked on the door as instructed by her parents. "Who's there?" A sharp voice demanded.
"It's me mommy." Shoko said.
There was a pause. "Okay, come in." Shoko did as her mom said and walked inside. Her mother was sitting at the kitchen table, one of the few decorations the hut had. Shoko's mom was wearing a tattered blue dress over her forest green skin with an old rope for a belt, her black hair was as unkempt as Shoko's and also looked like it could use a good scrubbing. Shoko's mom was reading a flier when her daughter had come home, she looked at the little girl expectantly. "Well? How was today's haul?"
Shoko smiled. "The best one yet mommy!"
Her mother smiled back, but it was greed in her smile instead of affection or joy. "That's what I like to hear."
Shoko walked over to her mother, who picked her up and held her over the table. Shoko's mom shook her daughter like she was a saltshaker and the silver coins Shoko stole fell out of her potato sack dress and clattered onto the table, it looked like enough to buy Shoko and her parents something to eat.
Shoko's mom however, frowned at the small pile of silver. She looked up at her daughter, still in her hands and dizzy from the shaking. "Is that it?" she asked.
Shoko looked at her mom fearfully. "Y-yeah mommy, it's the most I've ever gotten."
Her mother just stared at her for a bit before putting her back down on the floor. "Next time, try to do a little better." she said, plainly disappointed. "We have dues to pay just like everyone else."
Shoko looked down at the floor. "Yes mom." she said sadly.
"But, I guess you earned a reward for your best haul." Shoko's mom walked over to the cabinets and pulled out a small hunk of bread no bigger than her own fist, which she tossed to the excited Shoko. "Here, eat up. It's about to go bad anyway."
Shoko looked at her mom with joyful eyes, then ran to her room. She was too excited to hear her mom mutter 'if only we didn't have to feed her.' Once she was in her room, which was just a closet her parents never used, she laid down on her newspaper bedding and devoured the bread. It might've been a little stale but it was the best thing Shoko had eaten in a while. A small window illuminated the closet revealing all of Shoko's belongings in her tiny room; her doll made of bundled up straw, a smooth rock she found by the stream, a few discarded glass bottles she drew faces on, and a piece of wood she carved a face on. The wood was still red from when Shoko had cut herself carving the face.
Shoko finished her bread and looked at her drawing. When Shoko was five, she used a pencil to draw a picture on the wall. It was a picture of Shoko with her parents, it was no grand work of art but she did as good as any five year old could. Shoko smiled at the picture, then she picked up and played with her straw doll and glass bottles.
Shoko's mom was counting her daughter's earnings when her husband came home. Shoko's father was a bald, lime green-skinned man with her daughter's yellow eyes. He was a thin man who wore an old, dirty pair of overalls. When he entered the hut he eyed the coins his wife was counting. "How'd the girl do May?" he asked.
May shrugged. "It's the most she's ever come home with Phil, I just wish she could bring in some more."
Phil sat down at the table. "Well that's a kid for you, they never do exactly what you want them to do." Phil noticed the flier and picked it up. "What's this say?, you know I can't read."
"A merchant from who knows where came to town today, the flyers he put up say he's got a whole bunch of exotic treasures from all over Ooo." May explained.
Phil grimaced. "You think it's just another schmuck peddling garbage?"
May shrugged. "Maybe, wouldn't hurt to take a look."
"Yeah I guess so. We should take Shoko with us, an out-of-towner might give us a pity discount if he sees us with a kid."
"Good idea." May got up and walked over to Shoko's closet. She opened the door and saw Shoko playing with her trash.
"I am the straw princess, and you bottle brutes shall not-oh hey mommy."
"Come on Shoko, we're going to see a merchant." her mother said.
Shoko's eyes widened. "Can I get some new toys?" she asked excitedly.
"No you cannot, and do you remember why?"
Shoko's smile faded away and she looked to the floor. "Because simple possessions aren't the most important things in life." she said.
"Exactly, now let's go."
Shoko followed her parents through town to where the merchant had set up shop, it was a bland looking tent with a sign that read 'Grinket's Trinkets' above the entrance. May and Phil looked at each other before walking inside, with little Shoko behind them. Inside, a strange old lady wearing a grey robe sat in the middle of the tent. The tent was filled with an assortment of strange things: dried heads, funky articles of clothing, a few ship-in-a-bottles, and a pile of weird gadgets and gizmos.
The old lady with wrinkly skin as yellow as an onion opened her eyes at the sound of people entering her tent. "Well well, my first customers." she greeted in a scratchy voice. "Come in, come in, take a look and see if there's anything you like. FYI, I would advise against trying to steal anything." the old hag raised a finger and it crackled with ominous yellow energy. "Stealing from a witch never turns out well for the thief."
May and Phil backed up a bit. Phil coughed into his fist. "I uh… I didn't know witches had a side business of peddling… trinkets."
The witch shrugged. "Gotta make money somehow, you think potion ingredients are cheap? Take a look at what the dear witch Grinket has to offer. No refunds."
Shoko and her parents began searching through the junk for anything worth buying, May was rummaging through the pile of old gadgets. "Junk… junk… useless… maybe… nope… oh." she picked up a thin, rectangular device the size of a dinner platter. May studied it curiously. "Hey witch, what's this thing?"
The witch pointed her finger at the device in May's hands and it levitated out of her grasp and into the hands of the witch. "This my dear, is a computer built during the time before the Mushroom War." the witch said, she then revealed that the device could fold open, showing Shoko's now interested parents it's glass screen. "I think this computer is called a labatop or something like that, the name's not really important anyway. Here, just watch this.'' The witch pushed one of the devices' many buttons and the screen began to glow, Shoko and her parents stared at the screen in awe. "See?, it still works."
"How much do you want for it?" Phil demanded.
The witch tapped her chin. "Let's see, how about… one hundred silver pieces."
Phil and Mary's eyes widened. "One hundred?! We don't have that kind of scratch!" Mary cried. "Come on, there's gotta be something we could trade for it. We'll give you anything we have to give."
Grinket's eyes landed on Shoko. "Anything?"
Phil and May nodded.
Grinket smiled. "Well… there is one thing you could give me. There's this one potion I've been meaning to brew, but I'm missing an ingredient you see. I'll give you that computer," she pointed at Shoko. "For one of the girl's arms."
Shoko's eyes widened in fear, she took a few steps back but didn't run. Shoko figured her parents would never let this gross old hag touch her, let alone take one of her-
"Which one?" her mother asked casually.
Shoko stared at her mom in fear and disbelief. "Mommy no! Please don't let her take my arm! I-"
"Shoko, hush." May knelt down to her eye level. "What is it that I'm always telling you about simple possessions?" she asked with false kindness, annoyance and impatience betrayed her tone, though Shoko couldn't hear it.
Shoko gulped. "S-simple p-possessions aren't the m-most important t-things in life." she stuttered.
"Yes, but there's more to it. All you really need in life is a good computer."
Shoko blinked. "Really?"
"Of course sweetheart, of course. A computer makes everybody happy. You want me and daddy to be happy, don't you?"
Shoko nodded.
"Good. Now give the lady your arm."
May stood up and gave Shoko a nudge towards Grinket, Shoko was shaking as she walked up to the witch. When the old hag summoned a small wooden table and a cleaver out from the piles of junk, Shoko yelped and looked back at her parents. "Do I have to do this?" she asked, fear evident in her voice.
"Did we tell you to do it?" her dad asked.
"Y-yes."
"Then do it."
Reluctantly, Shoko turned back around and slowly walked up to the table. The witch patted the wooden surface. "On the table now dearie, are you a lefty or a righty?"
"A-a-a righty."
"Then put your right arm on the table, the dominant hand is always a more potent ingredient you see."
Shoko placed her arm on the table, she was shaking in fear. "W-w-will it h-hurt?" she squeaked.
"It's not gonna tickle, I can tell you that much." said the witch. "Don't worry though, I won't take the whole thing. Just need the forearm."
"Shoko?"
Shoko looked to her mother with hope brimming in her eyes.
"Try not to scream too loudly, okay?"
Shoko let out another yelp when the witch grabbed her arm and hovered the cleaver over the elbow. "Don't worry my dear, it'll be one smooth cut. I promise." Grinket raised the blade up.
Shoko shut her eyes tight but the tears came flowing out anyway.
'Don't scream.'
'Don't scream.'
'Don't scream.'
Her scream was ear-piercing.
May and Phil were sitting at the table using their new computer when Shoko came out of her room, she was clutching her stump in pain. The witch Grinket had been kind enough to cauterize the end of Shoko's stump of an arm, which led to a pain so intense she nearly passed out. The end of her stump was covered with a plastic bag for a bandage, her parents told her there were no more bandages left so that's all there was to use.
"Mom, dad, it's starting to really hurt again."
Her parents responded without even looking up from the computer.
"It'll go away sweetie."
"All pain is temporary dear."
"Oh, okay." said Shoko. "Can I play on the computer?"
"No." they both answered in unison.
"Oh… can I go outside?"
"That's nice."
"Have fun."
Shoko stared at her parents for a little bit before heading out, Phil looked up at his wife once she was gone. "It's a shame about Shoko."
"Yeah." May responded.
"She won't be able to pickpocket as good as before."
"She'll either learn, or we'll find some other use for her."
When Shoko made it to the stream in the forest, she sat down and looked into the water. She reached out to her reflection with both her phantom limb and remaining limb, the pain had subsided some during the walk but every time Shoko tried to use her right arm a sharp pain would remind her that she no longer had one. The one armed girl stared at her left hand. "I guess I'm a lefty now."
Shoko heard a rustle of leaves behind her and she turned her head towards the sound, she smiled at the sight of the white cub. "Joice!" Shoko exclaimed.
Joice crawled over to Shoko and gave her a sniff, earning a giggle from the little girl. "Sorry girl, I don't have any snacks for you." the tiger cub then smelled Shoko's stump curiously. "Oh that?, I had to give a witch my arm so my parents could get a labatop. It's a kind of computer."
Joice tilted her head.
"Yeah, mommy and daddy said it would make them happy. And if they're happy, then I'm happy." Shoko looked at her maimed arm. "It only hurts every now and then, and on the plus side- being left handed is pretty unique." Shoko looked at the water. "I hope mom and dad let me play on the computer, it looks like fun. I wish I didn't have to give my arm for it, but we have a computer now, so we can be happy." Shoko looked back at Joice. "We'll be a happy family forever, you'll see."
Phil was playing solitaire on the computer when someone knocked on the door. "Who's there?" he demanded.
No one answered, but a note slipped under the door.
May and Phil looked at each other, then May got up and went over to pick up the note. Her eyes widened when she read it.
"Well, what does it say?" Phil asked.
May sighed. "The Bath Boy Gang is demanding more coin for this month's payment."
Phil gasped. "What?!"
"Calm down, there not asking for a whole lot more. We just need to sell something in order to make ends meet."
"You mean… the labatop?" Phil asked fearfully.
"I have a better idea."
When Shoko raised her arm to knock on the door, she realized she was trying to knock with the arm she no longer had. She knocked on the door with the arm she still had and waited for a response from one of her parents. Instead of a response, her mom opened the door. "Good you're home. Come on, we're all taking a little trip." she said.
Shoko's eyes widened in excitement. "Really? Where we going mommy?!"
Shoko's father walked up next to her mother. "It's a surprise sweetheart, now let's get going."
It was the first trip the three of them had taken out of the village in a long time, they traveled on foot through the forest for hours with Phil reading a map and leading the way. "Are you sure you know where we're going?" May asked.
"Sure I do, it's down this path straight through the forest." Phil answered. "I know how to read a map."
"Yet you don't even know how to spell your own name."
"Reading a map and reading a name is entirely different!"
"If you say so."
Shoko was enjoying the walk despite her parent's bickering, she giggled when a butterfly landed on her stump. She was getting curious on where they were heading though. "Mom, dad, where are we going?"
"You'll see." was all her dad would say.
The trio finally made it out of the forest and into a field of withered grass. "Aha! I told you we'd find it!" Phil pointed at a large wooden building standing in the middle of the plain, it was simple looking but stood out as the only building for miles around.
Shoko and her parents walked up to the door, her dad gave it a knock. A burly man with black hair and red skin wearing a black robe opened the door. "Can I help you?" he asked, his voice and face were void of any emotion.
"Yes hi, I'm Phil and this is my wife and daughter." Phil greeted. "I wanted to talk to you about a…" he leaned forward and whispered so Shoko couldn't hear. "...new recruit."
The red man looked at Shoko, who shied away from his gaze. "This dojo only recruits-"
"Before you finish, how about we go inside and see if I can't persuade you otherwise." Phil suggested.
The red man looked at Phil in consideration, then grunted and stepped aside for Phil to enter.
"Great!" he said before walking inside.
Once the red man closed the door, Shoko looked up at her mother in confusion. "Mommy, what's going on? Why are we at a dojo?"
"Just wait until daddy comes back, Shoko." her mother answered.
Shoko frowned, but held her tongue and watched the door patiently for her father's return. When he did finally reemerge from the wooden building, he was carrying a small leather pouch in his hands and he had a gleeful look on his face.
May smiled at the pouch. "I guess all went well?"
Phil smiled back "Yup. Now let's get going."
May looked back at her confused daughter, she knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Listen carefully Shoko, you're going to be staying here for awhile."
Shoko's eyes widened. "What do you mean mommy?"
"I mean, me and your father need you to stay here and do as the sensei tells you." her mom said, annoyance unheard by Shoko crept into her voice. "Now it's important that you stay here and don't come looking for us, no matter how long we've been gone. Understand?"
Shoko still looked scared and uncertain, but she nodded. "When will you and daddy be back?"
"Not for awhile Shoko, but I need you to do this for us. Can you do this for us?"
Shoko nodded.
"That's my girl." And with that said, Shoko's parents left both the dojo behind, and their daughter behind. Shoko watched as her mother and father walked out of her life, trying to feel proud that she could still do something for them even with only one arm. And as the days went by, and as those days became weeks and those weeks became months, after every grueling day of training. Shoko would lie awake at night trying to remember the faces of her parents as she slowly fell asleep. Every single night.
On the night she could no longer remember their faces, she sobbed herself to sleep.
(nine years later)
Shoko looked through the window and saw the Cotton Candy Princess asleep in her chamber, the princess smiled contently in her peaceful sleep. As silent as a cemetery, Shoko opened the window and crawled inside. The one-armed thief looked around the room, deciding on the best spot to look. She decided under the bed was a good start. On stealthy feet, Shoko walked over to the bed. She began to get down to look underneath when Cotton Candy Princess stirred in her sleep, Shoko froze.
"Mmmmm… Billy… go ahead and… taste my cotton candy…" the pink princess muttered dreamily.
Shoko grimaced in disgust, she lowered herself to the floor once the princess had settled down and looked under the bed. Shoko smiled when she saw the mahogany chest. 'Score.' Shoko reached her arm out and pulled the chest from under the bed. She unsheathed the knife that hung from her chest and picked the lock with ease. Once it was unlocked, Shoko opened the chest and smiled victoriously at the cantaloupe-sized pink diamond inside. Shoko took out the gem, closed the chest and slid it back under the bed. Once that was done, she snuck her way back to the window.
Shoko was about to climb out when she heard a gasp behind her, the thief turned around and saw the pink princess staring at her in shock. "Uh…" Shoko looked at the diamond in her hand then back at the princess. "It's for charity."
"GUARDS! HELP! THIEF! COME QUICK!" Cotton Candy Princess shouted.
"Gotta run." Shoko said before jumping out the window. With the grace of an acrobat, Shoko slid down the castle walls and landed on the ground below. She tossed the gem in the air and whistled with her fingers before catching the falling diamond, a large white tiger came running towards her at the sound of her whistle. "Time to scram Joice." Shoko said as she mounted the tiger. "Hiyah!"
The tiger bounded away, the castle faded into the distance as Joice ran through the field of green under the cover of night, the full moon's light illuminating the world below. Shoko cradled the jewel in her arm as she rode the tiger across Ooo. "And they say people with deformities have a disadvantage in life, well take a look at me now assholes."
Shoko then heard the sound of a running engine, she turned around and saw a big guy on a bigger motorcycle chasing after her and Joice. "Oh no. I take it back, don't look at me, I don't want the attention."
The guy on the motorcycle continued gaining on them.
Shoko looked back in front of her. "Okay Joice, put some pep in your step! Hiyah!" The tiger increased her speed but the motorcycle was still getting closer. Growling, Shoko reached into the satchel on her side and pulled out a few cherry-sized, green balls. She turned around and threw them at the motorcyclist, who popped a wheelie and managed to avoid every green explosion the balls created when they hit the ground. Shoko's pursuer was roughly ten yards away from her now, she patted Joice's side supportively. "Don't worry girl, we got this. There ain't no way we're getting caught today." She told the tiger.
The guy on the motorcycle reached into his saddlebag and pulled out a sling and a bottle of brown liquid, he then loaded the bottle into the sling and spun it around over his head. The guy released the sling and the bottle went soaring over Shoko and Joice, it landed several yards in front of them and in a large burst of brown smoke a huge brick wall appeared in their path. Joice and Shoko's eyes widened and the tiger dug her feet in the ground, they skidded to a stop right in front of the wall.
Shoko stared at the long and tall brick wall. "Oh dang. Scratch that."
The motorcycle came to a halt a few feet from Shoko and her tiger, giving Shoko a good look at their pursuer. He was four times her height and built like a heavyweight boxer, his aquamarine body was lean and muscular and adorned with various battlescars. His red beard and red hair were wild and long, and he wore a thin, metal band around his head with a metal line that went down between his eyes and ended with a blue gem where his nose would've been. He wore a pair of brown pants but no shirt, which showed off his toned body. On his left hand he wore a large gauntlet with a big, green eye on the backside and a large sword with a skull pommel hung over his shoulder. The big guy glared at Shoko with his intense, emerald eyes.
The big man smirked. "It seems you've hit a wall, thief." his voice was as powerful as he looked.
Shoko gave the man an annoyed look. "You come up with that all by yourself?"
"Yup, just now actually." The big guy put his kickstand up and stood from the bike, making him look even taller. "Let's make this quick kid, it's late and I need to get some sleep. Gonna raid a dungeon full of orcs in the morning." He narrowed his eyes at Shoko. "You stole something from a friend of mine. And now, you're going to return it."
Shoko held the diamond tighter against her chest and Joice growled at the big man. "Hey, I stole this fair and square!"
"You can't steal something 'fair and square'. That like, completely contradicts what stealing is."
Shoko shrugged. "I don't see what the big deal is, it's not like the princess even needs this thing."
"It's a family heirloom. Look, just hand it over. Otherwise, I'm just gonna take it from you. And trust me, you don't want that."
"You know, if you let me go then I can make it worth your while." Shoko offered. "How does forty percent sound?"
Anger formed on the big man's face. "How dare you. Do you know who I am?"
"No, but I got a good feeling you're about to tell me."
The big guy pounded his chest. "I am Billy! Hero of these lands! I do not accept the bribes of petty thieves!"
Shoko tilted her head. "Hero of these lands? How much does that pay?"
"All I get in return is glory and the thrill of battle."
"Then why do it if that's all you get out of it?"
"Give me the damn jewel."
Shoko sighed, she knew she wouldn't be able to take this guy and there was nowhere else to run. So with great reluctance, she tossed the diamond to Billy, who caught it in the air and placed it in his saddlebag. "Good. Now that that's settled, how about you tell me who hired you? Your skillset as a thief is clearly professional, someone must have hired you."
Shoko remained silent.
Billy chuckled. "Not talking eh? Honor among thieves I guess. Oh well. Tell you what kid, I'll let you off the hook this time but tell your boss the next thief he sends will not be met with so much mercy. Got it?"
Shoko nodded.
Billy got back on his bike, he just sat there for a minute before looking back at Shoko. "You really wanna know why I do what I do?"
Shoko just shrugged.
"Because no one else will." The great hero said before he started up his bike and rode off.
Shoko watched him as he rode into the night. "Of course they won't." she said. Shoko nudged her tiger's sides and they took off.
The next morning, Shoko rode her tiger to the Bath Boy Gang's hangout. An impressive looking manor that sat atop a large hill by the ocean. She rode Joice all the way up to the top, preparing herself for the worst. One of the Bath Boys opened the door for her and she walked inside, leaving Joice to wait outside.
Shoko walked to the Bath Boy leader, a pudgy guy with skin the color of lemon juice. He was sitting in a large tub shaped like an open clamshell, soaking in the water with a towel wrapped around his head, a pink facial mask and cucumbers over his eyes. A couple of Bath Boys sat around the big tub, they eyed Shoko as she walked up to their leader.
"Hey boss." Shoko greeted.
"Shoko my girl, glad you could make it." answered the gang leader. "The job went well then?"
'Careful now Shoko.' "No boss, the job was a flop."
"Ah, what?" The gang leader took the cucumbers off of his eyes. "You're my go-to thief girl, what the hey happened?"
"Guy named Billy jumped me, he took the diamond back to the Cotton Candy Princess." Shoko explained.
"Oh dang, she sicked Billy on you? Man, guess I should've told you about him. He's tight with the CCP." the gang leader stuck the cucumber slices in his mouth. "Alright girl, I'll tell you what. Since it's kinda-sorta-but not really my fault the job went stale, I'll let you off easy. Just do another job for me and we'll call it square."
'Phew.' "Cool, what's the job?"
"You remember your old dojo classmate Reese?"
Shoko tensed up. "Yeah, what about her?"
"Well as it would happen, she ended up working for me same as you did. And she did good work, I'm not gonna lie. But a few weeks back she donked up a job so badly it cost me a mint, so I need you to track her down for me."
"You want me to bring her in?"
"Nah, I want you to whack her for me."
Shoko's eyes widened. "What?"
"I don't like repeating myself, so I'm not gonna." the gang leader said.
"I'm a thief, not an assassin."
"Killing someone isn't that hard, I do it all the time." The Bath Boy Leader said with a shrug. "Think of it this way: it's either you or her. Now get going, my scouts have told me she's hiding out in what's left of your old village."
Shoko rode away from the Bath Boy Gang's manor in deep thought. She hadn't seen her old village in a while, the BBG had wrecked the place two years ago when they decided that the little money project wasn't worth the hassle. They came and tore down everything, taking anything or anyone they thought was worth taking. When she had heard the news, Shoko immediately thought of her parents and their well-being. She never figured out what happened to them.
The sun was setting by the time Shoko made it to her village, Shoko rode Joice into her old home and looked around. It wasn't nostalgia that she felt looking around at the abandoned village, but what else was there to feel? This was her home, her past, this place had been her everything once upon a time. The feeling only increased when she saw her old house, it was one of the few houses that hadn't been torn down. There it stood, the cornerstone of her childhood.
"It's strange isn't it, seeing where it all began?"
Shoko turned her head towards the voice and there she was, standing out in the open. Reese hadn't changed much, with her navy blue skin and her pixie cut, midnight-black hair. She wore a grey one piece over her slender body, she appeared to be unarmed. The only thing that was different was the eyepatch she wore, only one of her bright purple eyes remained. Shoko dismounted her tiger. "What are you doing here Reese?" she asked.
Reese tilted her head, her sparkling purple eye danced with amusement. "I never told you?, I was from this village too. I didn't go outside very often though, my dad kept me in the basement for most of my life. I made wooden carvings all day for him to sell, being a cobbler in a village full of people who couldn't even afford shoes didn't exactly rake in the doe. When that wasn't enough he sold me to the dojo. I'm surprised that never came up. But then again," Reese smiled wickedly. "we didn't do a lot of talking, did we?"
Shoko kept her face void of emotion. "I think you know why I'm here Reese."
Reese shrugged. "If I were to place a wager, I would say that the chub in the tub sent you after me because he's still mad about that little mishap with the shipment of rubber ducks. He makes it sound like they were made of gold or something." Reese pointed at her eyepatch. "I lost my dang eye trying to defend that shipment."
Shoko unsheathed her knife and Joice walked up to her side growling. "For what it's worth Reese… I'm sorry."
Reese stared at Shoko with disdain in her eye. "You shouldn't be." She then reached behind her back, Shoko thought she would pull out a knife but it was just a glass bottle with some green liquid inside. "You can put the knife away, we both know even with your tiger you can't beat me. But don't worry, I have no intention of running for the rest of my miserable life." Reese uncorked the bottle.
Shoko's eyes widened. "What are you doing?"
"Ending my story, the one nobody even bothered to look at. Not even you. I was actually hoping you and I could have one more night together before I had myself a drink, but I don't want a knife in my back halfway through. As kinky as that would be, I prefer to go out on my own terms."
Reese downed the bottle, Shoko made no move to stop her.
Reese tossed the empty bottle aside and looked at Shoko, a grin formed on her face. "At least I can look at you while I die, and remember the ecstasy from our nights together and our fights together." Reese began to sway about like she was falling asleep. "You know, it's strange. People live their entire lives afraid of death, but… it's actually… pretty peaceful." Reese fell to her knees. "Dying feels... rather relaxing actually." She smiled at Shoko. "See you soon." Were the final words of Reese.
Shoko watched as Reese's body slumped to the ground and ceased movement, her purple eye was still fixed on her.
"Of course they won't." Shoko silently muttered to herself.
Shoko walked inside her old house, nothing seemed to have changed. The table was still there and the cabinets still hung from the wall. Shoko tried to imagine her parents sitting at the table using the computer they traded for her arm, but she had long forgotten their faces. She instead walked over to the little closet that was once her room. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see her stuff was still there. Her doll, her bottle brutes, her rock and her bloodied wooden face were all on the floor next to her newspaper bed. Even her drawing was still there, though it had faded beyond recognition.
Shoko took a long look at her past, then she closed the door and buried that past.
When she walked outside, Shoko was met by a large, blue skinned bath-boy, much to her surprise. "What're you doing here?" she demanded.
The bath boy raised his hands in defense. "Woah, cool them jets Shoko girl. The boss just sent me to see if you got cold feet. But by the looks of it," the Bath Boy looked over at Reese's corpse. "I'd say all went well."
"Yes, all… went well."
"I didn't see any stab wounds or nothing. Whadja do, choke her to death?"
"She's dead, that's all that's important." Shoko responded bluntly.
The Bath Boy shrugged. "That's fair. Listen girl, the boss wanted me to give you some news if you were alive and if the job was done."
"I'm alive and Reese is dead. What's the news?"
"A new job coming up. Day after tomorrow, the boss wants you back at his crib." The Bath Boy explained.
"What's the job?" Shoko asked.
"Boss won't tell, but by the sound of it, it's something big. I think he might've mentioned a rival gang or something like that." The Bath Boy said, he then mounted his donkey and rode off.
Shoko watched him leave, then took one last look at her old home. She wondered how long she would be doing this, how long would it be before she clocked out? Would she do this until she was old and gray? Was this all she would ever know?
Shoko walked over and mounted Joice, she up into the young night sky. "Whatever it takes, I do what I have to do to keep myself safe." Shoko spoke aloud to no one. "...Because no one else will."
And with that, Shoko nudged her tiger's side and they rode away.
Finn awoke to the sound the sound of shattering glass. His eyes shot open and he saw Ice King, Life Giving Magus and Abracadaniel sitting on the floor in front of him.
"No!"
"Come on!"
"Stupid off-brand model!"
The three wizards had a pile of snacks around them and were all sitting in bean bag chairs, they stared at Finn with devastated looks. The confused human wiped the shards of cranial crystal off his face. "What… happened?" He asked groggily.
"The dang crystal overloaded!" exclaimed Abracadaniel.
"Yeah, and just when things were really getting good." IK complained.
LGM got up and shook Finn in his seat. "Finn, listen very carefully." he said. "You need to remember more about Shoko; what was her next job?, did she ever find true love?, did she have to watch her tiger die?!"
Finn blinked away the stars he was seeing. "Will that… help find my first past life?"
"APPLESAUCE to your past lives! We just really need to know what happens next!"
Ice King yanked on his beard in frustration. "Oooooh, I hate these hiatuses!" He looked at the snacks piled around him. "Maybe another snack will calm my nerves." IK was about to grab some pretzels when he noticed a snail sitting on top of the popcorn, it stared at the ice wizard intently with it's beady green eyes. "Ooo, escargot! I've been meaning to try fancier foods."
The snail smiled as Ice King picked it up and swallowed it whole.
IK stuck his tongue out in disgust. "Ew! Is that what fine dining is? Forget that, this Ice King is sticking with takeout."
His stomach suddenly rumbled. IK brought his hands to his belly. "Oh man, that snail ain't sitting right." He clutched his stomach painfully. "Oof. If you guys need me, I'll be giving my toilet an opportunity to sue. I may be in there for a w-"
Ice King doubled over with a painful gasp, then flopped onto his back. He laid on the ground shivering and moaning.
LGM and Abracadaniel stopped badgering Finn about Shoko and the three of them turned to Ice King in shock and fear. Finn jumped out of his seat and ran to the madman's side. "Ice King!" He knelt down and rested the old man's head on his knee.
LGM and Abracadaniel ran over to join Finn by Ice King's side. "Wha-what's wrong with him?!" Abracadaniel asked fearfully.
Finn felt the Ice King's forehead, it was cold and clammy but his temperature seemed to be rising. He was shaking all over and his blue skin began to form a greenish tint.
"I think he might've been poisoned!" said Finn. "Do either of you have any healing potions or something?!"
"If it can bring Ice King down like this, then the poison is too strong for anything we could give him!" Life Giving Magus stated.
"Well then, what do we do?!" Finn demanded.
"Stand back guys, I have an idea!" shouted Abracadaniel.
Finn and LGM backed away as instructed and Abracadaniel pulled a small, blue crystal bottle out of his fanny pack. He pointed it at Ice King and uncorked it, releasing a blast of ice and snow that froze IK in a coffin of ice. "Now Magus!"
LGM took off an oven mitt and touched the ice block, which brought the ice to life. "Wassup?" the ice asked.
Finn, LGM and Abracadaniel took a breather once Ice King was frozen, Finn stared at Ice King in his icy tomb. "Will he be alright?" Finn asked.
"Ice King is a being of frost, he should be well preserved in the protection of the ice." Abracadaniel said.
"Also, now that the ice is alive it'll aid in IK's preservation." LGM added while putting his oven mitt back on. "It's like he's a baby in the womb."
"Wow. I did not need to hear that." the ice said. "I feel… so grossed out right now."
"What the heck happened?" Finn asked.
"It's like you said Finn, Ice King was poisoned." LGM responded. "But Ice King is practically immortal, no ordinary poison could have done this to him."
"Indeed, finding a cure strong enough to counter its effects will be incredibly difficult." Abracadaniel added.
Finn took a deep breath. "Okay, it's cool. We just need to call the Grand Master Wizard and-"
"No! Good glob no!" LGM shouted. "We can't do that, he'll think we poisoned him!"
"What? Why?"
"Us wizards are not stable in the head man, we're paranoid and bonkers!" said LGM.
"A wizard's magic is fueled by the madness and sadness that dwells within." Abracadaniel explained. "Ice King was one of the most powerful wizards in Ooo, and he was… well…"
"Insane in the membrane?" Finn offered.
"Yeah that sums it up."
"It gets worse." LGM added gravely. "The Lich's prison is tied directly to Ice King's lifeforce. If IK dies, then the prison will be weakened and the Lich will be able to break free!"
"Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man." Abracadaniel began to hyperventilate. "What do we do?! The ice will only keep him alive for so much longer?!"
Finn rubbed the sides of his head. 'This is what I was talking about, I am not the right guy for this.' "Okay okay, is there anything you guys can think of that could heal Ice King?"
LGM rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmmmmm… AHA! Cyclops tears!" he cheered.
Finn raised an eyebrow. "We need the tears of a cyclops?"
"Not just any cyclops, there's this old rumor that a cyclops with magic tears lives somewhere up in the mountains." LGM explained. "Nobody that has gone after the cyclops has ever actually managed to find him though, so we'd need help tracking him down."
Finn sighed in relief, there was a chance to save him. "Okay, who can we ask that can help us hunt down the cyclops?"
Abracadaniel snapped his fingers. "That's it! 'Hunt him down'! We can ask-"
"Nope, nuh-uh, nnnyyope. I know who you're about to suggest, and there is no way she's gonna help us!" said LGM.
"What, is there someone that could find the cyclops for us?" Finn asked.
LGM rubbed the back of his head. "Well yes, there is one wizard that could potentially help us. In fact if she can't find it, then no one can. But she hates the Ice King."
"Why's that?"
"Other than the fact that they're normally the last two to duke it out at every Wizard Battle? A while back, Ice King tried hitting on her, and when that didn't work he tried kidnapping her." LGM shuddered. "I'm pretty sure IK still has the scars."
"Look, I'm not saying I want to ask for her help either. That chick is scary and intense." said Abracadaniel. "But like it or not, she's our best bet on finding those tears."
"Then we need to find her and beg for her help." Finn insisted.
LGM sighed. "Okay fine, but I nominate Finn to do the talking."
"As do I." Abracadaniel said.
Finn rolled his eyes. "Alright, so who do we need to ask for help now?"
Life Giving Magus rubbed his mitts together fearfully. "Well… she's called the Huntress Wizard."
...Yup.