Crossing The Seas, Not Braving The Wilds.
Dear readers, I would like to ask for a favor. My goal here in Fanfiction is to hone my ability to write and enrich my sometimes lacking vocabulary. As such, if there is any mistake, lacking in description, or odd phrasing, that you happen to come across in any of my stories, I beg you to immediately write me a review or PM me to inform me of the error. It is my hope that I will be able to improve my writing and bring you fine people more compelling stories as a result.
Additionally, I would like to give special thanks to the two reviewers who took the time to point out a few mistakes here and there, I deeply appreciate the nitpicking.
"It seems to me that the further East you go the more unpunctual are the trains. What ought they to be in China?"
― Bram Stoker, Dracula
Shocking to the sensibilities of to the seasoned adversary of luck-bound villains, the captain and his freighter made port at the time given by a boastful Miao contact. Tsukune had expected some manner of delay or catastrophe to hinder his efforts to cross the China Sea. So far, no trace of ever such a thing in view, yet he still was suspicious.
A shadow hung over them, a premonition of some dark force on its way. It was telling, it forewarned that Death followed swiftly behind them, only ever a single step out of reach. Jasmine was unaware of any such danger, content to follow her big sister and guardian to corners of the Earth unknown. Akua wearily watched and waited, fully conscious of the dreadful aura that stuck to them, ready to strike out and murder whomever be the source. Tsukune's face, concealed beneath the novelty mask, remained neutral and expectant. From today onward, the amount of time he would spend in the company of others would rise exponentially. It was essential that he stayed anonymous, lest some unsavory member of Fairy Tale, future or current, commit his identity to memory.
"Right on ssschedule," came the hissing voice of a middle-aged man in a yellow raincoat.
He stepped onto the dock, leaving behind his pride and joy, the Slivering Lady, to meet those he was ordered to ferry. A monster posing as a human, his grotesquely large hands, sharp nails and forked tongue that produced a lingering on the consonant were all that might make a careful observer question the captain's origins. Fortunately, the sea-faring monster did not often deal with humans directly. The crew was of the same tribe, the workers at the port who dealt extensively with him were also monsters, and the occasional special request never came from any human crime syndicate.
That was not to say he could not pass for a human amidst a crowd of them. Pinkish skin, large cheeks and bulging fat that crept up to form a second chin of sorts. He was the archetype of the overweight sailor. He appeared as jovial as a Buddha, his large smile stretching from ear to ear. Whether it was genuine happiness or some leftover hunter-like attitude that contorted his face in such a manner, Tsukune could not begin to guess; the captain's grin had a predatory property to it.
"Ssso, yer the vampiresss they told me to take with me," he glanced over the trio of superior monsters with a critical eye and set his gaze on the oldest one. "What'sss with the gettup?"
Tsukune did not respond, he stared back into the lizardman's eyes with intent. A touch of his aura seeped out of his form and enveloped the sailor in question. The monster immediately averted his eyes and apologized for his disrespectful tone. "Thing isss, we don't often get to carry your lot around."
"Oh, we understand," Akua intervened to ease tensions, as they had rehearsed, "It's just that my friend can't really talk."
A glimmer of comprehension flashed through the monster captain's eyes. He must have lost his tongue during a fight with another vampire. Those creatures were vicious to say the least, it was not that much of a stretch to imagine such a fight having taken place. From what the tribes said of vampires, it was amazing they showed this much restraint when other monsters were present.
"I ssse. Now, 'bout the trip," his eyes ventured back to their owner's pride and joy, "you'll be back on ground in two or three daysss, if we don't get much trouble from cussstomsss. They've been a pain lately. Not lettin' no ssstrange thingsss happenin'. Poor sssailor gotta make a livin', though." He grumbled as stories of other clandestine stowaways surfaced back into his mind.
The veteran captain never erred as did others who were called upon to bring monsters back and forth between the mainland and Japan, regardless; word of mouth and rumors had a way of wedging themselves in the collective skulls of monster captains, every bit as superstitious as their non-supernaturally linked brethren.
Unwelcomed news, but not completely unforeseen. Tsukune was willing to bet there would be some sort of obstacle in his way, there always was. He felt a force latching itself around his hand, Jasmine seemed worried. He followed to trail to what it was her eyes fixated with fear, the vast open water that laid before them. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, to let her know that it would be alright. She appeared to have received the message and softened her hold a bit. She was still quite tense, but she hid it well.
"Ah, don't worry 'bout it," the captain laughed, "ssshe'sss a sssturdy lady, ssshe'll get ya home sssafe 'n' sssound."
Without a word, Akua quickly grabbed onto Jasmine and dragged her onboard the boat. Apparently, she wanted to be done with the ordeal just as badly as Jasmine did. That left only the bribed monster and the masked vampire back on land. The former feeling a bit intimidated by the silent vampire not five feet away from him. He rushed onto his ship and yelled out some orders to his crew. Tsukune swiftly made his way up the ramp and past the deck, the sooner he got away from the crew, the better he would feel.
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"Was doing that really necessary?"
Akua was far too absorbed by the sight of the coast vanishing in the morning fog to turn towards the vampire that sat next to her. She could feel a touch of regret mingled within Tsukune's words, to which she felt almost obligated to sigh. That same spark of naivety she valued so much was becoming a great burden to manage at this rate.
"You're the one who wanted to stay anonymous." She reminded him, as does a mother pestering her child over a lesson they should have learned time and time again. "Well, mission accomplished. You won't so much as hear a peep from him you don't want to hear." She paused as the stink of fear the monsters above deck exuded seeped into the room through the wooden boards and metallic hull. "Or from the others on board."
"Yeah, but it really felt like he was about to make a run for it,' the boy lamented.
"Happens all the time when we're around. He'll get over it."
"But, sister, I think Tsukune's right." Came the high-pitch squeak from behind them. Jasmine was lazily lying down on one of the beds in the large cabin, staring up at the ceiling with her legs kicking and shuffling the air as if some imaginary object pushed up against them. "Maybe that was a bit much."
"Oh jeez, stop siding with him every single time. Big sister knows best."
Jasmine looked towards her self-appointed mother figure and stuck out her tongue as a means to convey how she felt over the prospect of her 'big sister' telling her she knew better than the man who saved both of them not two weeks ago. Truly, however, the greatest stinging gesture was not her impolite action but, instead, her less than flattering remark.
"You mean like when you thought it would be a good idea to go spy on Tsukune, right before he caught you?"
"H-How did you hear about that?"
"Big brother Tsukune told me."
Chinese or Japanese, the boy was always capable of recognizing the sound of his own name. Generally, that never boded well in the past. His suspicious were to be confirmed soon thereafter.
"Big brother Tsukune, eh?"
The boy in question found the sea to be incredibly wondrous all of a sudden. He could feel Akua's oppressive glare on him, the intensity with which it burned was the stuff of legends. He dared not say a word. He avoided making any contact that might suggest he noticed that the young assassin wanted to have a word with him, direly.
The eldest Shuzen cleared her throat, no reaction. She called out his name, still no answer. Finally, she resolved herself to taking more draconian steps in catching his attention. From what she recalled of their heart-to-heart a fortnight ago, a good friend of his tried to murder him with the Dimensional Sword. If he were foolish enough to ignore her, it could not be helped if she did something drastic every now and again.
She breathed in slowly, quieted her aura, and got into a fighting stance. Jasmine, quite aware of where this was leading, made sure to vacate the bed and take several steps back; she was not about stand in Akua's way when she used such extreme means of persuasion. One step, two steps, three steps… She was now barricading herself behind the door and waiting patiently out in the hall for the one-sided massacre to commence.
Tsukune felt a disturbance. A pressure was building up; ever so gently, it bubbled up and cast its influence in the surrounding air. Then he felt it, a great gust of power burst forth and murderous intent lunged out at him. Akua was in midair by the time he realized she was about to fight him. Sensing he could not properly dodge her attack, he instinctively brought his arm up and parried her strike. The two arms connected and Akua's ability was canceled out.
The young vampire watched in awe as the person she tried to lightly cut blocked her. She stood, her mouth agape as the first target to ever dodge nullify her Dimensional Sword push her back and got into a fighting stance of her own. She could see the unwavering determination in his eyes, and for but a moment, she saw a great amount of power buried inside of him. It was a power she believed only two vampires in existence held.
"First Ancestor…" She whispered in amazement. Peering down at her hand, she noticed that her hand could once more displace rifts in Space after breaking contact. "Incredible technique," she finally noted. "Where did you learn it?"
Now that the imminent threat passed, the ex-ghoul fully came to grips with the gravity of his mistake. In that moment of panic, he was unable to distinguish an actual threat from a simple thrust meant to catch his attention. As a result, he had tipped his entire hand; that alone would bring about more unwanted questions.
"Umm…"
This was bad, he could feel the two pairs of inquisitive red eyes locked onto him. The more he tried to think of a suitable explanation, the more it entailed going into detail about who he was… and where he came from.
"Oh jeez, you're not about to start keeping secrets from me, are you?" She inquired.
He could see the glimmer in her eye. That same slight sliver of intrigue he saw when he first used that technique to fend her off at the Hanging Gardens. The more time they spent together, the more he could see facets of the dangerous Shuzen assassin that once tried to destroy him, back when he opposed her obsessive desire to protect Moka from those who cared about her. He could feel a wedge being driven by his silence, he had to resolve himself to saying something.
"Jasmine," he called out into the hallway.
"Yes?" She answered, still flabbergasted by the sight of such a display of power.
"Come in and close the door, what I have to say can't leave this room."
Understanding the imperious gravity of his tone, Jasmine complied without a word of protest. Leaving the boy free to recount a story about a simple human, a lonely vampire, and the friends who dared to stand up against evil and seek Coexistence…
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"Whatchhha think about 'em, Cap?"
The veteran leader of the crew, checking over the register as his feet lazily rested on the counter of the helm, gave a dark look at his cohort. The cohort had completely forgone the idea of maintaining his human appearance on board. Green scales, an elongated mouth with several missing fangs, and the ever so famous reptilian eyes that were a pale yellow. Dressed in the same vestments as his captain, his long claws, dulled to handle the complex rigging of the ship, and his lively tail where allowed to protrude proudly from his form.
The captain did not really care for his lax and easygoing first mate, a lizardman who lacked the discipline to remain in disguise at all times did not deserve to be in charge of any part of a cargo freighter as delicate as the Slivering Lady. Alas, tribe politics and the like made for strange and undesirable collaborations within the workplace.
"Think 'bout who?" He feigned ignorance.
In truth, he knew precisely who his tribe brother referred to, but he refused to overtly speak of them. They scared him, and from what he heard of the cursed species he was shanghaied into ferrying across the vast seas, it was bad to speak of them behind their backs; especially when he considered how keen their ears happened to be. The last he heard of sailors badmouthing a vampire, they ended up on the English coast with their throats ripped out. Of the entire crew, only a single one survived; he was the bright youngling who jumped ship and swam ashore before the vampire arrived topside to tell his hosts what he thought of their opinion.
"The bunchhha Jonah beneath deck, y'know, the vampsss,' the inferiorly ranked lizardman went on, unfazed by the subtle hint his superior sent his way, all in the hopes he would halt the conversation before they were both dangled overboard with fishhooks stuck in their mouths.
"All I know isss we keep our mouthsss ssshut 'n' do our jobsss," he quickly reminded his good-for-nothing brethren.
"Sssomething wrong with 'em, can feel it from here." He whined, still intent to vent his frustration on his captive audience of one.
"Ain't no problem of oursss, and careful who you gonna call a Jonah. They jussst asss sssoon kill ya than look atchhha."
"Unlucky and dangerousss. I wanna get thisss over with."
For the first time in his life, he left like they had reached common ground, "You and me both."
"An' about the big guy…" he began, "… the mute."
"What?"
Barely had the words escaped him that he already regretted asking such a moronic question. If, of the three, he felt there was one vampire not to speak ill of, it would be the menacing guardian that never made a sound. The girls seems polite and even well-mannered, characteristics that often beget merciful tendencies; the brute, he ventured to guess, was not quite as magnanimous as the little blood-thirsty ones.
"He don't act like no mute I've ssseen before," the first mate commented in an offbeat manner that provoked a mix of involuntary snickering the captain could not suppress.
"Sssince when do ya know what a mute actsss like?"
"He don't act right, I sssay."
Superstitious fears or simple outright hatred for the infamous 'monsters among monsters' race, the fatter lizard creature did not care one bit: He wanted his first mate to, for just once in his life, to leave a topic of conversation alone. He was no longer afraid of the vampires, or not as much as he previously was; he merely wanted the good-for-nothing to hold his tongue before he talked him to death.
"Inssstead a cryin' 'bout it. Get back to work."
Yet, the owner of the Slivering Lady still did not hear the end of it, and had to restrain himself before jumping at his underling's throat to relieve his exasperation. He could feel a serious migraine lodging itself in his brain when the familiar voice spoke once more.
"Tellin' ya, a real Jonah dat one."
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"… Wait, go back to the part where the giant ship crashed."
"Oh jeez, what have I gotten myself into?"
His explanation had left his audience dumbfounded and a bit skeptical for several reasons. First of all, Tsukune did his best to avoid naming names, meaning that he had to identify his friends, family, acquaintances and enemies with numerical values or nicknames. Secondly, he conveniently left out the part where he was forced to time travel back to an earlier time; for some reason, he could feel the idea of being sent into the past was a foreign concept, even for monster society. Thirdly, some minor details had to be changed to suit the anonymity Tsukune preferred to maintain: He failed to go in-depth on how the final battle was won, who the enemy was and the like. All in all, what had begun as a genuine intention to tell them the entire truth morphed itself, yet again, into a quagmire of half-truths, omissions and misleading facts.
It was quite the unsatisfactory story for the young vampires. Akua tried her best not to groan at the sheer implausibility of half the events he did go into. She had been in the assassination industry for a while now, information and gossip were tools of the trade; still, she could be sure that a large part of what he recounted did not happen, whether in Japan or China. Still, it puzzled her, some behaviors and protocols Tsukune recalled seemed awfully close to some of the routines Fairy Tale used. The oddest part, though, was the amazing amount of precision the boy was able to bring forth; it clearly showed that Tsukune was not lying, not consciously anyway.
Body language was reserved, closed off, but in no way dishonest. So she concluded that he did face Fairy Tale, and the grand majority of what she was being told really did happen. However, the amount of secrecy made deciphering the mess she was given an impossible task. One day, she would have a proper sit down with her hopeless rescuer and get him to tell her the entire truth. Until then, she would keep a watchful eye over him at all times. If he really was so prone to getting into daunting situations, Akua would have her work cut out for her.
Jasmine found the whole story to be quite charming. She hung on every word and appreciated the conclusion. The veracity of the account was not her concern. It sounded nice, she trusted her newly adopted big brother. It was a little murky but she believed him, nothing else mattered.
"Yeah, I know how all this sounds," Tsukune admitted with a weary look.
"No, no, you say that's how it happened and I believe you." Akua reassured with a slight smile. "Still, I want to go back over a few parts later if you don't mind."
The discussion as cut short by the sound of a grumbling stomach. Afternoon was nearing and Jasmine was beginning to feel a bit peckish. Her older sisters motherly instincts set in and she went about dragging her protectee out of the room in search of something, or someone, to eat. If the food was lacking, the assassin was certain that she would find a willing volunteer in the crew. If not, she would find someone to make a generous contribution, independent of their freewill.
Tsukune did not so much as voice a single word of opposition to the idea. He was feeling hungry himself, and while he wanted to avoid feasting on some poor fool, he could sense that dissuading anyone else from trying would be both futile and stir his own desire for the crimson sustenance. If only human satiated him as it did in the past, it would be one less burden on his mind.
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The rest of the voyage went on without a single incident. The crew was frightened by a few anemic crewmembers among them but nothing beyond the slight worry. The vampires kept to their quarters, and the crew steered clear of them whenever possible. Angst was the de facto peacekeeper and eradicator of discontent for the members of the reptilian race.
Finally came time to disembark. The entire crew had assembled to see the fearsome trio off and confirm they were alive after spending several days in the presence of vampires. They waved and smiled and wished them well. Underneath their outstretched smiles and pleasant disposition, Akua could detect the abject odor of anxiety enveloping the farewell committee. This only went to show why she despised spending any length of time with lower monsters, if they never had any sort of combat experience, they were likely to instinctively be afraid of a vampire. Being feared and discreetly shunned simply for holding a greater amount of power than others was disheartening, another reason why so many vampires turned to elitism.
She glanced at the masked vampire walking behind them, to think that he was once so fearful, perhaps creatures could change if they were shown the light. She interiorly laughed, and to think it would be the humans who would take the first step. It most assuredly was an interesting time to be alive when a human ascended the latter of power, or rather an ex-human.
They strode confidently passed the assembled group, courteously thanked them, and marched off the Slivering Lady as it unloaded the rest of its cargo. Back on solid land, a weight lifted from their shoulders. No matter how safe it was to sail, seeing nothing but the vampirirc equivalent of acid for days had a way of impacting one's morale.
Thankfully, that part of the journey was over. They waited at a nearby building on the extremity of the port for their Shuzen escort to arrive. It was scheduled to meet them any moment now. They waited for a while, silently watching the humans that scurried around them. None seemed to particularly mind the vampires, too absorbed by their own activities to truly care. Those who did steal a moment to observe the strange bunch assumed it was merely a cosplay event, it was an excuse that served the ex-ghoul well.
Of all the humans that went and left, none spent more than a few seconds staring at him. None, save one single boy, whose brown hair and equally brown eyes were familiar to Tsukune. The boy did not look away, having lost his cousin and parents, he was starting to enjoy the festivities on the street, the most interesting attraction had to be the mysterious group of cosplayers. Tsukune was privy to all manner of things that passed through the young boy's head.
After all, who better than one's own self could see the thoughts that dwelled within the hopeful face the person so often was accustomed to seeing in the mirror…