Chapter Three: Early Morning Hours and Beyond
Sinbad stayed up, just playing with Tettia's hair after she had woken him up several hours ago. For some reason, he could not go to sleep after that, therefore he continued to play with her hair — it seemed to help her sleep. "I wonder who this mystery guy of yours is, Tet?" he asked quietly.
As the young man continued to play with her hair, Tettia nuzzled her face into his chest, mumbling sleepily and drawn out, "Sinny~"
Hearing that, he looked down at the half-blooded Fanalis with a confused and curious look. Sinny? Is she dreaming of me? he thought to himself. The young Sinbad continued to play with Tettia's semi-wavy hair.
Some time after that sleep-talk moment, Tettia was stirred from her sleep. "Well… that was short lived," she mumbled with a yawn.
"Well, good morning, Tet. Sleep well?" asked the young man.
A jolt was sent down the woman's spine at the voice; maybe it was not the one she was expecting. Jerking her head up to look at the young man, her heavily sleepy crimson eyes widened with confusion. "Sinny? Why do you look so young? Also, where are we?" she whispered in an heavily sleepy voice.
Her sudden and unbelievable response cause Sinbad stopped playing with her hair, almost immediately. "What do you mean why do I look so young, Tet? I'm only sixteen; as for where we are, we're in the Sasan Kingdom," he replied, looking at her worriedly.
The more she woke up fully, the more she remembered what happened. Right… Tora sent us back in time… she reminded herself. "I-I'm sorry… you just looked older in my dream, and I guess I believed it was reality for a moment there," she tried to cover up.
Sinbad chuckled softly and resumed playing with her hair. "So you were dreaming of me, huh? Was it a good dream?" he asked.
"Wh-wha…?! I-…" she stumbled over her own words. Unable to refute his claim, Tettia sighed and said, "Yeah… I was dreaming of you and yes, it was a good dream. Some of my friends were there too, including an idiot blond who I took a liking to… before he died a few months back…"
"Oh… I'm… sorry to hear that. If you don't mind me asking, how did he die?" asked Sinbad, now stroking her hair comfortingly.
Tettia smiled sadly and sat up. "He died in a fight with another one of our friends during a civil war that broke out. Unfortunately, that friend had fallen into depravity and was being controlled by his need for revenge," she spoke sadly. "Then my friend who is like you had something happen to him… and we don't know if he's alive… or dead."
Sinbad sat up beside her, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's terrible, I'm sorry about that, Tet. I-… I'm here for you, should you need some comfort; because I'm sure Tora is not the best at comforting," he said.
Leaning her head on his shoulder, Tettia smiled softly. "Thanks, Sin. Also, she's okay at comforting. She knows how close the blond was with me… that's why we met up with you, Jaffy and Hinahoho today. Tor was trying to cheer me up, because it's been months, yet I was still upset about blondie's death…" she laughed softly.
"Well, maybe I can make you feel better? I'm not sure I can replace him in your life, but I am sure he wouldn't want you to torture yourself by not moving forward, right?" he asked with a sly little smirk.
Looking over at him, Tettia rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, of course you can make me feel better. How do you suppose you do that? Force yourself onto me or something?"
Chuckling lowly, he retorted, "I don't think I'd be forcing myself onto you, there, Tet. I'm sure you'd be asking me to."
"Oh, you're pretty cocky, little boy," said Tettia with a small smirk of her own.
"I'm not a little boy, I'm three years younger than you."
Tettia laughed and poked Sinbad's face, "Yeah, so what? You're three years younger than me, that's premise enough to call you a little boy, in my books."
Sinbad looked at her as she poked his face. "One day, possibly soon, I will prove I'm not a little boy to you, Tettia," he said with a smirk.
"Oh my god, Sinbad! You have a long way to go before you can even think about proving to me that you're not a little boy," she exclaimed quietly, shoving his shoulder, smiling widely.
Smirking deviously, Sinbad retorted, "Oh really? How long of a way do I have to go, Tet?"
Rolling her eyes, Tettia replied, "Far too long a way, you twit."
"I am not a twit," he said.
Snickering, the red-head replied, "Oh yes you are. A sometimes mature, flirtatious twit."
"Like you don't like me being flirtatious," snickered the young Sinbad.
"Ha ha. Of course I do. I love you being flirtatious," said a painfully obvious sarcastic half-Fanalis.
Sinbad ruffled her hair, "I hear that sarcasm, Tet."
A sharp cheek pinching came as a result, "Good for you, Sin. You hear the sarcasm. Now, what are you gonna do about it?"
"I-…I don't knooooowww! B-but let my cheek go! Owww!" exclaimed the young man.
Tettia laughed and released his cheek, then said, "Very well, I shall release you."
Rubbing his cheek, Sinbad muttered, "That hurt ya know… ow… what'd I do to deserve that?"
"Everything," came Tettia's crisp reply as she laid back down on the bed.
Sinbad laid down beside her, laying on his left side and propping his head up with his left hand. He looked at her as she stared at the ceiling. "Why are you looking at the ceiling? I'm right here," he said with a grin.
The young man's little quip had the young woman snickering to herself. "I'm looking at the ceiling because I don't much feel like looking at you," she said wittily.
Chuckling and rolling his eyes, Sinbad replied, "We both know that's crap."
"How do you know if what I say is bullshit or not, hmm?" asked Tettia, turning to look at him.
"Got you to look at me, didn't I?" asked a chuckling Sinbad.
Groaning, Tettia replied, "God! You're just like Tora! She does the same shit to me all the time! Ugh — well played Sinbad… well played."
Smiling an easy smile, Sinbad patted the area closer to him. "Why you so far away? Come closer, you heathen," he said with a low laugh.
Scooting closer on the bed, Tettia laughed, "You're a heathen, too, ya know. We're all heathens as far as this kingdom is concerned."
"Ah, you make a good point. Now come here," he said, pulling her even closer to him.
Tettia squeaked at his action. "Wh-what in the hell are you doing?!" she squeaked.
"Pulling you close to me so I can keep you warm, but of course," said a smiling Sinbad. "Now, we really probably be getting to sleep: both of us. Tomorrow will likely be a busy day."
Blushing but nodding, Tettia replied, "Aye… you have a point. Good night, Sinbad."
"And a good night to you as well, Tet," spoke Sinbad, smiling down at her. After that, the two quickly fell asleep.
Later that morning, once the sun had risen, Sinbad and his band of merry comrades set out. Ja'far was being hugged on by Tora. "You're a great snuggle-buddy, Ja'far~" gushed the purplenette.
The young white-haired boy blushed and asked, "Can you get off of me, Tora?"
"Nah~!" she said. Tora then noticed that Sinbad was making quips at Tettia, which had the red-head laughing quietly: the two looked closer than they were before. "You two look closer than you were yesterday. What happened during the night?!" she exclaimed, almost attacking her friend with a hug of sorts.
Tettia blushed as her best friend directed her gaze towards the two of them. "Nothing happened last night, Tor. Well… I mean, something did but…"
Ja'far looked at Sinbad with horror and anger-filled wide eyes. "What did you do to her, Sin?! You haven't known her but almost a day!" he yelled angrily, ready to hurt the sixteen-year-old.
Throwing his hands up in defense, Sinbad defended himself, "We did nothing like what you're both thinking, Tora and Ja'far. I swear! Also, do you really think Tet would let me touch her with how little we know each other? The closest I could get is a hug, maybe a cuddle."
"Well, we did cuddle with each other last night… and you played with my hair. Anyways, we talked most of the night, that's what happened. That's all that happened," Tettia said with a snicker.
Tora looked at Tettia and Sinbad with crossed arms — she was scrutinizing each of their faces for traces of lying. Unable to find any, the purplenette sighed heavily, she had to accept what they said. "Very well, I trust you both. But if I find out you two did anything else besides what you said and lied to me about it: I will hurt you," she said, pointing to Sinbad.
"Thanks for believing us, Tor! I can assure you that we didn't do anything inappropriate like Jaffy thinks," Tettia said, ruffling the young white-haired boy's hair. "I still adore ya, Jaffy!"
He swatted at her hands. "DON'T RUFFLE MY HAIR! I can think what I want!" he exclaimed angrily.
"Oh, you're a little spitfire… totally unlike the twenty-seven year old I know…" Tettia muttered almost silently.
Tora heard what she said and nudged her shoulder, "I know right?! Isn't he?!"
The two best friends laughed to themselves, both reminiscing about the twenty-seven year old Ja'far they left behind. "I miss that old killjoy…" Tettia said almost sadly.
"You talking about that blond?" pipped in Sinbad, slipping into the conversation by wrapping an arm around each young lady.
Tora looked at Sinbad, looking surprised that he even knew about the blond. "Tet, did you tell him?" she whispered to Tettia.
Promptly, the best friend whispered back, "I did… early this morning. I had a dream about everyone we left behind and I woke up asking why he looked so young and where were we. I…" she took in a deep breath, and let it out shakily, "… I thought he was Ali when I was asleep… I was surprised when I woke up and heard his voice."
Looking sadly at her best friend, Tora placed her right hand on Tettia's left shoulder. "I'm… sorry, Tet. I hope you'll get happier now that we're here…" she whispered. "You never told him Blondie's name, did you?" she asked in her normal voice.
Shaking herself out of her sadness, Tettia smiled. "Oh, you're right! I never did! Haha! He was named Ali," she said.
"Oh, well, I'm sure Ali would want you to move on, right?" asked a smirking Sinbad.
Tora's eyes widened. "Oh shit! Ya know… I think Capt'n Moron here might actually have a good point! Babwa wouldn't want you to mope around since he's not with us anymore: Tet, he loved you and would definitely want you to move on! Therefore, you gotta do it! For Babwa!" she exclaimed happily, seemingly encouraging her best friend and Sinbad. For whatever they may be in the future.
Ja'far cleared his throat, him and Hinahoho having been momentarily discarded, "Excuse me, Sin, are you going to see that apprentice Knight from last night?"
Looking up, Sinbad chuckled before Tettia butted in, with a huge smile, "Yeah! Fucking course this twit is! As the son of the Knight King, that cutie gives us great contact! It would be stupid to let this opportunity get away from us! After all, we are the fledgling Sindria Trading Company, aye? Gotta expand our trading territory."
Sinbad ruffled her crimson hair, smiling at her. "Yeah! I love the way you think, Tet," he said.
Tora nudged Sinbad in the stomach, "I'm sure that's not all you're gonna fucking love, right boy?"
"Weren't you just the one saying you'd hurt me if I did anything with her?" asked Sinbad curiously.
The purplenette shook her head. "No, no, no… honey… I said I would hurt you if you lied to me about doing something. I don't deal with liars… and also, that was before you made a damn good point. Babwa would want her to move the fuck on! Now, I never was against you two, believe me, I've been rooting for SinTia since for—yesterday."
"Oh really? Have you now?" asked Sinbad.
Tora nodded, smiling widely. "Oh yeah, you have no idea," she said almost mysteriously.
Tettia rolled her eyes. "I am right here!"
"Yeah? And? Wanna fucking prize?" retorted a sassy purplenette.
Ja'far sighed, "For a while, I wondered what would become of us, but… you, Sin, really have the devil's luck."
"Quit flattering me," replied Sinbad.
Tettia laughed, "I don't think that was meant to be flattering… in fact, pretty sure that might have been an insult."
Suddenly, a young-looking blond appeared, his long flowing hair tied in a long braid. "Yo, Sinbad… I'd say 'Long time no see', but it's really only been about two years…" said the mysterious blond.
Sinbad twirled around to look at the blond. "You're… Yunan! Long time no see! You haven't changed at all," exclaimed the young man with a wave.
Yunan laughed, "Really? You got old, huh?"
"I'm not old! I just grew up and got bigger. I've become a handsome man, right?!" exclaimed the purple-haired sixteen-year-old.
Tettia and Tora snickered to themselves. "Oh, Tet, wanna argue if he's gotten bigger or not?" snickered Tora. Tettia shoved Tora's shoulder, snickering, "You're fucking impossible! I won't lie and say he's not handsome, though."
"Hmm?" hummed the blond in curiosity.
It was then that Ja'far asked, "Um… Sin, who's this?"
"He's a traveler that led me to Baal's Dungeon two years ago. Although, I don't really know who he is."
Ja'far almost blew a gasket. "You don't know?!"
Yunan smiled, "Eh? How cruel, Sinbad. Even though I've always been keeping an eye on you… you got your hands on a second Djinn, didn't you, Sinbad?"
Tora and Tettia smirked to each other. Tora whispering, "It's been a while since we've seen Yun-Yun, hasn't it?"
"Aye, maybe a year or so?" answered Tettia.
Sinbad looked at Yunan as he said, "… you even know that, huh? You're a mysterious guy as always… why are you here?"
The enigmatic blond smiled softly at Sinbad, and looked at Tora and Tettia almost knowingly. As if he knew they did not belong in this timeline, but did not say a word about it. Kids will always be kids, will they not? Instead, he addressed a different reason, "I think you may already know…? Recently dungeons have been appearing all over the world."
"Yeah. Ever since I captures Baal's Dungeon, it seems that they've been spotted in various places," said the young future king of Sindria. "Only the conflicts surrounding their capturing, like in Reim and Parthevia, have decreased. Dungeons have become tourist attractions and cities are flourishing around them. I heard that, after reading the adventures of my adventures—"
"You've heard that ordinary people stopped recklessly entering those damn dangerous dungeons? Wonder why that is?" finished Tettia, with a smile.
Once again, Sinbad ruffled her hair, "I think that with how much you can read my mind, we don't have that long a way to go before I prove to you I'm not a little boy," he said with a smirk.
Tettia pinched his cheek. "Down horn-dog, you still have a while to go. Just because I can finish your thoughts does not mean shit, got it?"
"Ow, ow, ow! Yes ma'am! Let go of my cheek," he whined.
She let go of his cheek, smiling triumphantly. "Thank you, don't worry though, little boy, you'll get there sooner than you think. Maybe within a few months?"
Yunan the Enigma laughed, which called everyone's attention back to him. Once all eyes were on him once again, he began, "I see… if you haven't realized it yet, I'll tell you all. Royalty and powerful people from every nation… are starting to challenge the dungeons and claim the power of the Djinn. The Reim Empire, a major power. The Kou Empire, a new power built from the unity of three countries. Small countries like Artemyra and Heliohapt… and… even here, in the Sasan Kingdom. You're no longer the only conqueror with the power of a Djinn. Sasan's Dungeon capturer is this country's most influential person, Knight King Darius Leoxses. What will you do? Can you face other Dungeon capturers?"
Sinbad smiled that signature easy smile of his as he replied calmly, "Yeah. I intend to."
Ja'far looked surprised, everyone else did not. Tora and Tettia even nodded, the former out of respect. "You have my blessing, Capt'n Moron," said the purplenette.
"…oh?"
Sinbad continued, "From the start, we sought an audience with the Knight King to negotiate trade with Sasan… the fact that the Knight King is a dungeon capturer doesn't change that. Rather, this just makes it even more enjoyable. We brought in two lovely women into our organization and now we get to deal with this, very enjoyable."
Yunan chuckled to himself. "… you're interesting as always. I'll be looking forward to seeing… the reaction of two dungeon capturers to one another… Sinbad. Also, goodbye Tora and Tettia…" he said as he disappeared.
"Oh shit, maybe he knows," gasped Tettia before laughing.
"So, we still gonna go to Mystras?" asked Tora. "Because, if we are, we should go."
The young killjoy was freaking out. "He… disappeared?! Sin! That person just now disappeared! SIN!?" he yelled out in shock.
"Calm down, Ja'far," said Hinahoho and Tora.
"We can't see Mystras?" asked a confused Sinbad and Tettia.
The soldier held up a hand, explaining, "No… ordinarily, we have no obligation to speak to outsiders like you, but the situation is urgent. Mystras has officially declared his withdrawal from the Knights."
"…then he's not here anymore?" asked Ja'far.
"No, I'm sure he's still here," retorted Tora.
The soldier nodded in affirmation. "Yes, it's like she said: he's still here. But it's only a matter of time, right?"
The other soldier continued, "You may not know as outsiders, but—"
Rolling her eyes, Tettia said, "But for you Sasan Knights — once baptized as a knight, you must devote every waking moment of your lives to Sasan. And no matter what, breaking that vow is unforgivable, which means for a knight to resign is basically signing his own death warrant. Contrary to that, there is only one way a Sasan Knight can resign and walk away with his life, and that is winning a fight… against senior Knights, correct?"
The soldiers were duly impressed. "Wow, as an outsider, you sure know how we work."
Shrugging, Tettia said, "Yeah, I knew from when I was a child. My second cousin came from this place and would sneak out to come visit the family in our hometown. Ya see, my dad was once a Knight from Sasan, but did the trail thingy and left as soon as he beat it. Glad he did, else I would never have been born. Oh, but this was years ago."
"I never knew you were half-Sasan, Tet!" exclaimed Tora.
Tettia looked at her, "Really? I NEVER told you that? You didn't even get it with Sparti would tell me stories about my cousin? How he died admirably in battle?" Tora laughed nervously, scratching her cheek embarrassedly. Pinching the bridge of her nose, Tettia said, "You were ten times beyond being hammered those times, weren't ya, Tor?"
The purplenette nodded, rubbing her neck. "Yyyyyeeeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhh… I was beyond hammered those times. I never really payed attention to Spart's stories about… anything, really…"
"Oh god… Sparti's gonna hate you forever now," retorted Tettia.
"You are not gonna tell him! Bitch if you haven't forgotten what I did, LOOK WHERE WE ARE!"
Tettia looked around. "Yeah? You're point?"
Tora pulled her to the side and said in a hushed whisper, "I sent us back in fucking time, Tet. Spartos is probably still a child. A young child at that."
"Ohhhhh… right…" she whispered back. The two pulled away from the whispering and Tettia said in her normal voice, "Guys, we gotta go see that Cutie fighting!"
"Let's do it!" exclaimed Sinbad. And that was exactly what the gang did, they went to see Mystras fighting to keep his life.