Disclaimer: Seeing as how some of my ships are at the bottom next to the Titanic, ownership's not happening very soon.

VII. If Three's A Crowd, How Many Is This?

The journey to the Elemental Nations can be summed up with only one word: stress. That was what one Riem Lunettes thought within a week on the ship heading towards the country. The route to the isolated continent was long so stops along the way were mandatory for refueling and replenishing dwindling supplies and necessities. Besides him, there were Oz Vessalius, Gilbert Nightray, Alice, Sharon Rainsworth, and Xerxes Break on the quest to find the elusive "Michael Vessalius" as everyone's taken to calling the missing member of the family.

It's understandable that Oz, Gilbert, and Alice to be on the boat, but the Pandora Organization wasn't comfortable letting Oz, the bearer of Jack Vessalius' soul, run around in a foreign country, even with Raven and the B-Rabbit by his side. Which was where Riem came in, even if it was mostly Rufus wanting him to gather information about the country they were heading to. As it turns out, Xerxes caught wind of where they were going and cheerfully invited himself into the group, followed by Sharon, who refused to let her friends leave her behind. (Not that anyone can persuade her out of her decision when she's threatening them with her family's signature harisen.) Frankly, Riem was surprised they were allowed to go in the first place.

Then again it could help that Riem's master, Lord Rufus Barma, was the one funding the entire journey. He was pretty sure it was because of Duchess Sheryl's influence, something about "enriching her granddaughter's knowledge of the world outside her native country." Needless to say, Rufus was all for it. Using his connections, he gotten hired a captain and his crew to take them to their destination. His actions wasn't surprising to many, given how head-over-heels he was in his undying love for the Rainsworth Matriarch.

Now here they are. So far Riem counted three instances of finding Xerxes in various questionable locations, ten different men hitting on either Sharon or Alice, fourteen violent outbreaks from the males within the groups afterwards, two times the ship's chefs came to him begging to rein in Alice's monstrous appetite, that one time Sharon somehow gotten the whole crew kissing her shoes calling her their mistress and five times Oz of all people caused mental, physical, and emotional trauma to his victims due to them doing something to offend either Gilbert or Alice to his knowledge. (After the latter, Riem was wondering if Oz was one of those rumored "yanderes" he's heard about from Lord Barma.)

To be honest, for all his saint-like patience and ability to put up with a lot, Riem can't wait until they reached the Elemental Nations.

VIII. Culture Shock

Jiraiya was enjoying his time in Shukuba Town. He was currently staying at this lovely inn that had a hot spring in the back. He really came at the right time because it was currently rush hour in the area as all the fine ladies were dropping in to enjoy the hot water. Giggling like a little girl, his eyes devoured the glorious sight the peephole in the fence separating the two sexes presented.

"Alice-san, wait! You have to wash yourself first before you go in!" Eh, a foreigner? Arisu is an odd name though.

"But it's a bath, right? I can wash while I'm in the water." Clueless tourists then. But what are foreigners doing in the Elemental Nations.

"Oh, Alice-san. I guess you've forgotten everything Riem-san told you. Come, why don't you let your Sharon-onee-sama wash your back for you?"

"I can handle washing by myself. I don't-"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…S-Sharon-o-onee-sama. Will you h-help me w-wash my back…p-please?" What is going on over there?!

"Why, of course I will, Alice-san~"

Huh, you'd think if they are gonna travel to another country, they'd brush up on the local customs at the least. Otherwise you'll be sticking out like a sore thumb. Those two are bound to catch the wrong attention especially if they are amateurs at spying. Now back to my research~. The blonde on the right has a nice big ass and the redhead lounging on the rocks isn't too shy about what she's got from the way she stretching. Just the way I like 'em. Yessiree the beautiful women of Shukuba ain't got nothing on- WHOA, WHAT A SIGHT! I TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I'VE SAID ABOUT THESE FINE LADIES! THEY MAY BE FOREIGNERS AND A BIT ON THE YOUNG SIDE, BUT DAMN, LOOK AT THE CURVES ON THEM! THE HIPS ON THE LONG HAIRED BRUNETTE! AND THE MELONS ON THE ORANGE HAIRED ONE ARE AMAZING! ALL NICE AND BIG AND PERKY! MAYBE IF I AGE THEM UP ANOTHER TEN YEARS THEY COULD BE THE STARS OF MY NEXT ICHA ICHA VOLUME-

"What. In. The. Name. Of. The. Abyss. Are. You. Doing?"

Spinning around in shock, Jiraiya turned to face the small figure of an angry fifteen-year-old youth clad in a towel in front of him. He had golden blond hair that had various strands that stuck out here and there but still remain somewhat neat and sported a furious bloodthirsty expression on his face no ordinary teenager should possess. But what caught his Jiraiya's attention were his eyes. They were a blood red color and slitted like that of a demon's…

Wait, where did that scythe come from?

IX. Azaleas in Black Vases

This was the scene all the residents of Shukuba town were currently seeing. Poor Riem was running around the town trying to catch up to Oz and Xerxes as they chased down the unfortunate victim of their murderous ire. Even though it may be a futile effort, he still wanted to try and talk them out of committing murder in a foreign land. (OZ-SAMA, XERXES! THINK OF THE POLITCAL FALLOUT THAT COULD COME FROM THIS! PLEASE BEHAVE AND-FOR THE LOVE OF THE ABYSS! PUT THAT THING AWAY, OZ-SAMA!) Oz with B-Rabbit's scythe fully manifested and gleaming with a dark malevolent aura not unlike what its wielder was emitting as he hunted for the white haired pervert who saw Alice's nudity. Xerxes was showing no mercy to Jiraiya. He may be blind, but that didn't stop him from chasing down the defiler of his lady's honor with his chain, Mad Hatter, looming over them. Gilbert, on the other hand, was more than happy to lend a hand to the duo once he saw what they were doing. Only because of Oz and also because as a gentleman, his pride and upbringing can't allow that sexual deviant to live any longer.

Now how did things become this way again? Let's recap what happened in the last hour.

Jiraiya had never felt so screwed in his fifty years of existence. Here he was enjoying his research and then this blonde gaki interrupted his day WITH HIS FREAKING SCYTHE AIMING AT HIS POOR "KUNAI." The two ended up creating a hole in the wall of the inn and took their conflict out into the streets, not even pausing to get dressed as they left behind a trail of destruction in their wake.

From Xerxes' perspective, it was supposed to be a relaxing break from their search for Michael Vessalius. Sharon was fascinated by the idea of a hot springs inn Riem told them about while on the boat and wanted to try one for herself. In the end, he figured it would be an enlightening experience for the group and they checked in at a popular one. Shortly after getting to their rooms, Sharon immediately dragged Alice out for some "girl time" leaving their men behind to go at their own pace. Gilbert went out to look for a store to replenish his supply of cigarettes while Oz headed towards where Alice and Sharon were after unpacking, just as excited to see why the natives were so fond of heated outdoor baths. Xerxes, on the hand, went out planning to explore the quaint town some time after.

At least that was what he planned to until he came across a particular scene.

A raging Alice clad in merely towel, trying to run out from a destroyed section of the inn's walls only to be stopped by an equally dressed Sharon holding her back. Just by her voice alone, she was in emotional distress and was struggling to contain it.

"OZ! AS MY MANSERVANT, I DEMAND THAT YOU BRING BACK THAT FILTHY DEGENERATE'S HEAD!"

"Ojou-sama, may I ask what just happened here?" Xerxes asked as he approached the Rainsworth heiress. Taking off his jacket, he placed it on Sharon's shoulders so she could maintain some decency.

"X-Xerxes!" Sharon snapped out of her shock and let Alice go to cling to the one-eyed man. "T-There was a man. He was… Oz is chasing him down… and… Oh Abyss!" Sharon then dissolved into tears into his chest.

A wave of murderous intent flooded the area as it came from the presence of the white haired man comforting the poor distraut girl in his arms. Nearby people stopped what they were doing and stared at him in horror, even Alice paused at her tracks to see what Xerxes would do next.

"Ku ku ku…Sharon dear…"

"Xerxes?" Sharon questioned with a small voice. She felt him remove himself from her before placing his doll, Emily into her arms.

"Emily will guard you. Oh Alice-chan, be a good girl and just stay put. I'll take care of everything." And with that, with an aura like an unhinged serial killer out to catch his next target, Xerxes disappeared out the hole in the wall. Not before the civilians looking in saw what looked like a large fancy looking hat with a visible foreboding air slowly manifesting above the man.

"Amazing." Alice breathed, causing everyone except Sharon to look at her incredibly. "Who knew that clown can be so scary, right? For a second there, I thought he was going snap and kill everyone here."

Sharon let out a choked giggled as she held Emily tighter to her chest. "Break used to be the Red-Eyed Ghost. But he's been better since then."

AN: I have created a poll on my profile. I'm kinda stuck on something so it's up to you to choose how the story goes. Don't know how long I'm gonna keep it up though. Maybe for another chapter or two. Also I realized while I was going over my chapters there were some grammar and spelling mistakes so I fixed that. Also while researching, I've been referring Riem as "Liem," which was incorrect, so I fixed that as well.

But anyways, thanks for reading this, and please leave behind constructive criticism. (っ￣∇￣)っ