And with this chapter, it'll be caught up to ao3 and I can just update em both at the same time.
Haseo, after visiting Shino and running another number of errands as the new guildmaster of Canard, had come to a decision. He would join G.U., only for the chance at getting closer to his goals. And he planned on making that very clear to Yata and the others.
He approached G.U., sucking in a breath. It was weird, actually walking back here to tell them his choice…
"Alright, it's now or never…"
"Oh! Haseo!" Atoli's voice pulled him out of his mini-pep talk. "Good afternoon, I see you're here to give your answer as well."
"...Yeah." He nodded, avoiding eye contact with her.
Without another word, he entered the guild, Atoli following right after him. Waiting was Kuhn, a smile on his face. By the looks of it, he was expecting them to show up soon and was expecting good news… It almost made Haseo want to second-guess what he'd decided.
"Hey there! Glad you both came by… Yata's waiting in the Serpent of Lore to hear your answers…" He paused. "Just between us three? I'm sure you guys'll make the right choice."
Atoli returned his smile with her own. "Thank you…!"
"I made up my mind before I came here, so if that's an attempt to sway what I may or may not have chosen, it's not going to work." Haseo turned up his nose at Kuhn's words, heading for the Serpent of Lore.
Atoli let out a little gasp, chasing after him. "Kuhn was just being polite, you know! There's no reason for you to talk to him like that!"
"Maybe not by your standards, but we're not the same person!" Haseo didn't even turn to look at her. "I'm not about to let someone's words try and sway the choice I've made."
"I see… Then you've decided to not join?" Yata… looks like he'd heard exactly what Haseo said as he walked towards the room. "Or do you just want to make sure we don't think we have any influence over you?"
Haseo frowned. "I'll work with you, as long as you don't think you can always boss me around! You give me information on Tri-Edge and I'll do some of what you want." If it didn't get him closer to helping Shino, he wasn't interested.
Pi frowned from where she stood, a bit of a ways off from Yata. "What makes you think you're in the position to bargain?"
"If people like me are so rare, I'm pretty sure I have the right to bargain!" Haseo crossed his arms as he turned to look at her. "I'm not interested in being bossed around day and night for something I don't care about!"
"I see…" Yata looked to Atoli. "And what are your feelings on the matter?"
"Oh…!" Atoli squared her shoulders a bit. "I… I want to join! I want to be able to help people in every where I can, with Moon Tree and with G.U.!"
Yata smiled, clearly pleased with this outcome. "I see, then it is just Haseo with specific requirements for joining…"
Haseo sucked in a breath, preparing to leave if Yata used that fact to try and weasel out of listening to him. There was no room for messing around, as far as he was concerned. Yata could take the deal, or leave it.
"I suppose if only one has special requirements, we can reach to meet them."
Pi's eyes widened as she turned to the boy. "Master Yata…!"
"Do not worry, Pi. His request is simple enough, information on Tri-Edge is not as hard to come by as he might think." Yata turned back to look at Haseo. "Of course, you wouldn't be able to find said information on your own…"
Haseo narrowed his eyes, unsure if believing him was a good idea or not. "...Well, if that's the case and you're willing to do what I said, then I guess I'll be joining too."
"Good." Yata adjusted his sunglasses. "Then it's time to discuss what the next step is."
"Next step…" Atoli thought for a moment. "Wouldn't the best next step be awakening to our potential…?"
"Exactly, it seems you'll learn quickly." Yata nodded. "Pi and Kuhn will be helping you learn just how to do that, as well as how to bind the creature to you in a contract."
"It may sound daunting at first, but so long as you listen and do as you're told, there should be no issues." Pi spoke up at that point, stepping to stand in front of the two. "Of course, I'm guessing the young lady is more receptive to listening than you are, young man."
Haseo rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, old hag. Just tell us what we're going to be doing already!"
"Old hag?!" Pi took a step back, clearly upset by the comment. She, however, did her best to recover and mask that, looking Haseo down. "The simplest way to awaken to your potential and draw the creatures to you is through battle. Of course, any old monsters don't usually do much in the way of pressing it…"
Haseo frowned, thinking again on the voice he'd heard when fighting Tri-Edge. He didn't trust these guys enough to bring it up again, but he had to wonder… Was the voice he heard the creature he had the potential to contract with…? Tri-Edge wasn't any old monster, after all…
"So they won't work… will we have to spar with you and Kuhn, then…?" Atoli tilted her head to the side, clearly not liking the idea.
"Of course not." Pi shook her head. "Regular monsters can work, it's just a long and tedious process to rely on them. Lucky for both of you, we believe another contractor is currently active and causing trouble."
"Lucky for us… What? You want us to hunt them down and fight them?" Haseo narrowed his eyes. "Want us to do your job for you or something?"
"Of course not, one of us will be with you. It's simply the fastest way to awaken you to your potential and to avoid any unnecessary injuries to either of you."
"You won't even have to truly hunt…" Yata spoke again, bringing up a screen that displayed a pretty man. "This is Endrance, the current Emperor of the Demon Palace in Lumina Cloth. You will simply enter the tournament with Pi or Kuhn and fight your way through it… I'm sure a Harvest Cleric and the Terror of Death would be able to do such a thing with ease."
"A...alright!" Atoli gave a nod after the moment, though the twisting of her hands and the movement of her feet clearly marked her as nervous. Of course Haseo was going to have to work with someone so nervous...
He sighed, looking at Yata. "...Fine. But I expect you to hold up your end of the bargain too!"
He chuckled. "Of course… Now, go ahead and go prepare yourselves. Stock up on any items you may need, as you'll be staying in Lumina Cloth for the duration of the tournament and won't have much time to come back."
"Oh, uh… How long do you think the tournament will be?" Atoli spoke up again. "I need to tell Sakaki how long I won't be available for Moon Tree."
"Anywhere from a week to a month's time, depending on how far you can truly make it." Yata replied so plainly...
Clearly the asshole didn't believe in them… So why was he making them do it again?! Seemed like a waste of time, if you asked Haseo! God, this was already pissing him off…
"I don't have time to be sitting around here listening to you guys chatting about this and that." He turned on his heel. "Just tell me when to be at the Chaos Gate so I can go get ready already!"
"Be there within three hours." Pi sent a glare his way. "If you're not there, I can assure you I will come looking for you."
Was that supposed to be scary? Because Haseo wasn't scared. "Fine, fine…"
He'd use those three hours to their fullest. He did need to say goodbye to Shino before being gone for so long, after all...