Chapter Ten: Well isn't This just Perfect!
A/N: If I hadn't stopped myself, this chapter woulda been A LOT longer!
After sometime, Sinbad decided to get down to business. Everyone gathered around their president as they looked at the map on the floor. Tettia was laying her head on Sinbad's shoulder from behind. Looking at a map, Sinbad spoke, "Listen up, from now, we'll have Artemyra's support for our trade routes… so air transport will become necessary and indispensable. It will be especially useful for areas like Sasan that are surrounded by mountains. However, the weight we can transport will be extremely limited. Our chief means of transport will still be by boat, since the amount of goods we'll be trading will be increasing…"
Tettia looked at the map, not fully comprehending the business. Tora, however, knew what to do and said, "It seem like we'll need three times as many ships as we have now… where will we get all that money, Captain Moron?"
"We'll get a loan from the bank associated with the merchant's guild, and we can solicit help from our investors. Also, we'll collect any outstanding bills from out customers," said Ja'far.
Tora wrapped her arms around his small body, as she was sitting behind him, and leaned her head onto his once again. "Go Killjoy," she praised him.
Gasping, something finally clicked in Tettia's brain and she said, "In addition, we'll need to set up branch offices in both Sasan and Artemyra. And we will have to elect those who will be transferred to those offices."
Looking over his shoulder at her, he smiled and said, "We'll have to find another means of getting those funds… tomorrow, I'll work with our accountants to set up a year-long budget."
"Whew… we're ridiculously busy with all these things that we have to get done," said the young Ja'far. Sinbad, Hinahoho, Tettia and Tora were holding a barrel of delicious wine from Sasan, exclaiming for them to drink. Whipping his head to look angrily at the four of them and he yelled, "Hey, Sin! That alcohol is an expensive sample that we brought back from Sasan!"
Sinbad held up a snake, "This is a smoked snake from Artemyra."
"That's an expensive sample, too!" yelled Ja'far.
Tora shoved Ja'far, exclaiming, "Why are you such a fucking killjoy, Little Killjoy?!"
Vittel looked down at his cup, and someone touched him, which brought him out of his thoughts. "Wh-what is it?!" he questioned.
"We have a customer…" said a dark-haired woman.
"Huh? But the shop is closed today, isn't it?" asked Vittel.
The light-haired woman spoke, "We told him that, but… he said he absolutely must meet with President Sinbad…"
Vittel cocked his head in confusion as he said slowly, "Ooooookay? Let me go get him." After he said that, he went off to get Sinbad. "Sinbad! Some customer wants you!"
Cocking his head in confusion, Sinbad looked at the pinkish-purple haired nineteen-year-old. "Really?" he asked.
That resulted in Tora promptly punching the purple-haired president in the arm, exclaiming, "Get the fuck up off your ass, Captain Moron! It could be something pretty damn urgent!"
"Ow! Fine," said the young Sinbad as he got up. Tettia and Ja'far followed him and Vittel, which meant that Tora also was tagging along. "…A customer for me? What could they want at a time like this…" asked the golden-eyed captain.
Vittel spoke rather frankly, "Who knows? The girls seemed oddly scared and didn't tell me anything else…"
Sighing, Tettia and Tora spoke, "Oh fucking well… let's just get it the hell over with…"
"Do they always follow you around, Sinbad?" Vittel asked.
Sinbad shrugged, "You know, Vittel, we just let do their own thing. They seem to know what to do in situations, so it's not like I entirely mind their accompanying us. Anyway, Tet will probably always follow me, at least."
Tettia huffed, a faint blush on her cheeks, "That's not true, Sin…"
Snickering, Tora retorted, "It's true and don't you even try to say it's not, Tet."
"I have a sense that you two are best friends," Vittel said, pointing at the half-Fanalis and purplenette.
Smiling, the duo answered him, "Gotdamn right we are! Have been best friends for three friggin years!"
Vittel smiled and just as he was about to reply to the girls, a woman's scream pierced the air, "KYAAAA!"
Sinbad opened the door and exclaimed in worry, "What's going on?!"
The woman who had screamed was looking in horror at the thing standing before her. Everyone's eyes widened, but Tettia and Tora (who knew exactly who and what that creature was). A tall dragon-like creature with green scales stood in the lobby of the Trading company. While Sinbad looked on with wide eyes, Ja'far looked at the creature with pensive eyes and Vittel was just concerned. "Wh-what the hell is he…?!" the trio exclaimed.
Tettia and Tora had to forcefully will themselves not to wave at the dragon and call out to him asking how he had been. "This is harder than it seems, getting our mouths shut," whispered the redhead to Tora. "Yeah… it really is… gotdammit, I just wanna tell them," Tora whispered back.
"I didn't intend to startle anyone. My hood slipped… and my face was unfortunately exposed. Then, I only wished to offer my hand to help up the young lady who had fallen over in surprise… I'm sorry," the dragon apologized. The young lady that had fallen was now standing beside Sinbad, crying like a wuss.
"Girl, stop fucking crying. He wasn't gonna hurt ya, do ya not have functioning ears? Or are you just blindly seeking Captain Moron's attention? Either way, you need to stop with your gotdamn crying… it's annoying," sneered Tora as she looked at the girl to the left of Sinbad.
Tettia snickered from behind her hand as the girl ran off, still crying. "My God, Tor, you're so cruel," she joked.
"I'm only looking out for my best friend, Tet! You know I'd fucking kill a bitch for you," winked Tora.
As Sinbad looked at the dragon, taking in his mannerisms, his golden eyes widened and asked, "…You are…?"
A woman slammed her hand on the table close to the exit of the building as she yelled, "Bringing us here without telling us… I-I won't approve of that man!"
The green dragon looked over his shoulder at the woman who had spoken, saying in a loud yet small voice, "Princess!"
"That man is… that man is a traitor! That man is also the one who humiliated me. My bitter enemy!" exclaimed the princess with anger, almost hatred seeping through her tone. "Having to appear before my enemy like this… is truly disgraceful," she exclaimed, removed her hood and continuing angrily, "I am the first princess of the Parthevia Empire, Serendine! I won't let you get away with saying you forgot about me!"
Sinbad had some flashbacks about Serendine, the thing that was different was that her light pink hair had been longer when they first met. "Y-you're…"
"Your hair looks nice cut short like that, Serendine," Tettia commented.
Tora nodded at her best friend's comment. "I agree! Your hair looks so much better like that."
Serendine looked at the two and broke her angry mood, blushing, she pushed some of her light pink hair behind her ear and replied to them, "You think?"
"Absolutely! Take it from me, I wish my semi-wavy hair could look good cut that short — because I would immediately get it cut that way. My hair sometimes gets in my way when I fight, and an opponent can catch me by my long hair," spoke Tettia, running a hand through her long hair, which brought it over her shoulder to cascade down her chest and torso.
"Thank you," the princess thanked, smiling a small smile at the duo.
"You're welcome!" the duo answered, smiling.
The dragon bowed before Sinbad, saying, "Sinbad… I'm begging you… please… please help us."
"Could you be… Drakon," asked the teenage Sinbad. Tettia and Tora let out a sigh of relieve and then told Drakon that he looked good, a bit roughed up, but good.
"…That really was surprising," spoke Hinahoho as he looked on from afar.
Tettia leaned forward and said, "No matter how you look at him, Drakon doesn't seem human."
Ja'far looked up at her, nodded and said, "Is he really… the same General Dragul that we knew before?"
Tora took the dishes from the young Ja'far's hands and spoke, "With those looks, it does seem impossible to believe, huh?"
With pensive eyes on Sinbad, Ja'far said, "Yeah… but Sin is…"
"…Long time no see, huh, Drakon? You sure have changed a lot, haven't you?" asked the young man.
Drakon chuckled as he said, "…You haven't changed a bit."
"Huh? Really?! I've become a much more handsome man than I was back when I was kid, right?" asked the shocked Sinbad, then he went on to point to his muscles, continuing, "Especially here, and here! Right?!"
Tapping on Sinbad's shoulder, which caused the handsome teen to look over his shoulder at her, Tettia leaned forward and leaned her head on his shoulder, speaking matter-of-factly, "Ya know, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Drakon's saying hasn't changed about you, Sin."
Turning his attention back to Drakon, Sinbad asked, "Is that true?!"
Drakon sighed, "Yes. Also, who is that girl?"
"That's so cold," replied a downtrodden Sinbad. "Anyway… this is Tettia, but I and everyone else call her Tet."
The dragon-like Drakon crossed his arms and nodded in approval. "A pleasure to meet you, Tettia. If I may ask, what are you to this idiot?" he asked, referring to Sinbad when he said idiot.
"Well, I'm not exactly a lover, but not just some random girl hanging on him," she paused, thought of something, then laughed, "I'm more of a lover-in-progress! He has to learn more about me before we can become lovers. Ain't that right, Sin?"
Sinbad looked at her and chuckled, "Yeah. There you have it, Drakon: she's my lover-in-progress."
From behind them, where Ja'far and Hinahoho were, Tora's hysteric laughter could be heard. The purplenette laughed so hard, she snorted loudly, "Lover-in-progress! Oh my fucking God! Tet, that is perfect!" Tears caused from the hysteric laughter streamed down the purplenette's face. She was having to hold onto the edge of the table as she continued laughing, Tora was also holding one of her sides.
"Was it really that funny, Tora?" asked Ja'far.
"Killjoy, you don't understand! Tet is the only one who could come up with a word as fucking goofy as lover-in-progress," laughed Tora.
Serendine was not having any of this small talk, she glared at Drakon and said harshly, "…Dragul."
"It's all right… I've sent away anyone who isn't necessary to our conversation," said Sinbad.
Serendine glared at Sinbad and pointed to Tettia, hissing, "Then explain why she is still here!"
Tettia threw her hands up in front of Sinbad (she had threaded her arms under Sinbad's) as she answered, "Calm down, Seren. Tor and me do what we want, and you will just have to get over it."
Sinbad spoke out, "The only people here are those of us that know you, the people you shared various experiences with, and Tora and Tet — but as Tet said, they do what they want whenever they want. Don't worry, you can speak freely here."
Drakon smiled, and said, "Thank you, Sinbad…"
"I have nothing to discuss with a man like him," sternly claimed Serendine.
"Princess!" Drakon, and the princess's two handmaidens — Saher and Tamira exclaimed.
Serendine spoke sternly once again, "That man is a traitor," she started getting angrier and angrier, "If he had pledged his loyalty to the Empire, and presented the power of the Djinn to the Emperor, then the Empire would have never fallen into the hands of Barbarossa and would still be headed for a glorious future! Instead, that man… acted on his own selfish desires, wielding that power only for himself. So now, he's become a success in Reim and is living like this…? Don't make me laugh! What you did… abandoning your country, betraying the Empire, spreading the threat of the Djinn's across the world… you're a criminal! It all turned out this way because of you, Sinbad!"
Laughing curtly, Tettia interrupted the princess, "Excuse you, ma'am, but I'm going to need you to stop shooting off at the mouth. Whether Sin did or did not betray the Parthevia Empire, it doesn't matter at this point — the Empire is in the hands of a crazy psycho. He had his own dreams to achieve, which is why he didn't share his Djinn's power with the fucking Empire. Did you ever think of that?!"
"Princess, please stop. Listen to Tettia. Sinbad isn't that type of…"
"Shut up! The both of you!" yelled Serendine, "Dragul… if you ally with him… then you are my enemy as well!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Look here, missy, you can't fucking say something as stupid as that right the fuck now! Drakon brought you all the way the hell out here, to seek help from someone he knows can help! You don't have to gotdamn right," yelled Tora.
Saher bowed at them as she said, "Please excuse them, Sinbad and Tora and Tettia. Both of them are exhausted from our trip, both in mind and body. Please allow me to explain… although… I'm not sure where to start…" She began to tell Sinbad why they had been driven out of Parthevia from beginning to end.
Sinbad sat down in front of the trio across the the table, Tettia was strewn across his lap just because she could. "The premeditated murder of Parthevia's empire, a coup d'etat by General Barbarossa, one of the four chosen generals who can use a Metal Vessel…"
"I understand your story. After that, you…" Sinbad said.
Saher nodded, answering him, "Yes… after that, we fled the country to seek asylum abroad…"
Serendine laughed darkly, "Coup d'etat? You can't just sum it up in one little word. Barbarossa murdered my father… murdered the emperor. Killing the emperor to whom he pledged his allegiance and dedicated his life… that's blasphemy towards our very country. A coup d'etat… calling it something so convenient is…"
"Princess Serendine, now's not the time…" said Drakon.
The light pink haired princess fired back at Drakon with an angry, "Dragul… I still haven't give my consent! This man is…!"
Tettia looked up at Sinbad, who was looking down at her, they both shared a look before sighing out, "… you guys should get some rest."
"What are you two saying?! This is not the time for rest!" exclaimed Drakon.
Sighing out once more, Sinbad spoke, "You need to precisely because this isn't the time. You haven't eaten nor slept at all lately, right? I can tell just by looking at you."
"That is exactly why you are being a crappy bitch, Seren. You are sleep-deprived and your body is begging for sleep," said Tettia as she played with her hair, looking up at Sinbad. "I mean, just look at your exhausted faces, scrawny and lifeless."
"Exactly as Tet says. You've changed so much since I last saw you. I can't even imagine what terrible things you must have been through. If there's more to explain to me, it can wait. Tet, mind getting off of me?" Tettia nodded and sat up, following Sinbad as he stood up.
Serendine exclaimed angrily, "You're just planning on running away, aren't you, Sinbad?!"
Sinbad exclaimed in a sternly, "Be quiet! I'm in charge here! I suggested that you rest because I feel it's necessary based on my own judgement. My lady, if you really are someone capable of ruling others, then you should take a minute to think about those supporting you. Don't worry. This is the Sindria Trading Company, known by everyone here in Napolia. I can guarantee you will be safe here, so get some sleep."
"Captain Moron~! They've all bathed and eaten their damn fill. It seems like they've all retired to their rooms for the night," reported Tora, playing with her gold-encased ruby hanging off of her choker. "According to the girls, they practically passed out before their heads hit the pillows. They have must been extremely fucking exhausted."
Sinbad did not remove his eyes from the scroll he was examining. "…I see," he said.
"That was a rare sight, wasn't it? To hear you admonish them like that… is there something worrying you?" asked the young killjoy.
Tettia, who was sitting on the window-seal beside Sinbad, spoke, "Nah, I don't think anything's bothering Sin. I think he was just saying what he was thinking."
"My lover-in-progress is correct," said Sinbad, winking at Tettia.
"…Really?" questioned Ja'far.
Laughing, Tora interjected, "Well, that princess got herself all sorts of worked-the-fuck-up. If Captain Moron didn't say something, bitch wouldn't've understood."
Sighing, Ja'far said, "Well… I guess that's true."
A knock came upon the door, and a woman said, "Excuse me. I've brought one of your guests to see you."
Tettia and Sinbad looked at the door in confusion. "Hm? This late at night? … Come in," said the president of the company. The door opened and Saher entered the room. "Saher?!" exclaimed Tora.
"Sinbad, I'm that Princess Serendine was so rude to you earlier… even though this has nothing to do with you, you have shown us such compassion. I'm very grateful," said the black-haired woman.
Tora, walking up behind Ja'far to wrap her arms around his shoulders and resting her head on his shoulder, said, "There's no need for that, girl. Please, for the love of all that is healthy, go get some friggin rest."
Saher shook her head, answering, "No. About our conversation earlier… what happened to us when we left the Imperial City… and how we came to be in this situation… I still haven't told you everything you need to know. By hiding us here, you might get dragged into all this. Once you understand the entire situation, I want you to form your own judgements. I'm telling you this as your elder… and as my atonement for not being able to do nothing for either Princess Serendine or Lord Dragul. Somehow… I want you to forgive Princess Serendine. Please understand… how sorrowful our life on the run has been. And the heartbreak of Lord Dragul's circumstances. All the things of this past year…" The five looked at her as she began the tale of the events of the previous year.
Coming to the end of her tale, Saher continued, "Like that, we entered Reim and moved from town to town, heading for a port. Princess Serendine and two of us entered towns along the way to gather information, while Lord Dragul concealed himself in the outskirts of each town. From then on, other than the times we met to share food with Lord Dragul, we rarely saw each other… I still don't know… if that was the right thing to do."
Tettia sighed and combed her fingers through her hair. "Wow… that's quite the tale you told. And… that sucks for poor Drakon. God, I just hate people sometimes!"
"Agreed! How dare people say they wanna kill our precious Drakon! I'll fucking kill them!" exclaimed Tora. Both of them had grown close to Drakon in their present, and it still broke their hearts that people would treat someone so badly just because they were different. It was something disgusting that humans seem to naturally and instinctually did.
Ja'far sighed and crossed his arms, looking up at Tora (who was still latched onto him), "Thinking realistically, you both, there is no way Lord Drakon could just walk around a community."
Sighing, Tettia, Tora and Hinahoho said, "You weren't mistaken… however…"
Drakon… Sinbad thought to himself, staring at the table. Tettia touched his hand and smiled at him. He looked over at her and smiled a small smile, silently thanking her for her small gesture of sympathy. In response, Tettia leaned against him, silently saying you're welcome, Sin just with her body language.
The door opened loudly and someone walked in, saying, "…Lady Saher, that's enough."
"Lord Drakon!" exclaimed Ja'far.
Saher looked over at him as she asked in a broken, confused voice, "Wh-why are you here…?!"
"I can no longer feel at ease around so many people. I was unable to sleep… however, I certainly didn't intend to make you responsible for saying all of this…" spoke Drakon as he sat down beside the dark-haired woman. "I'll tell you the rest myself. Do you still wish to hear it, Sinbad?"
Sinbad looked at his friend, saying with a nod, "Yeah, of course."
Sighing, Drakon began his tale, "During the times that we were separated, I had nothing to do but wait… day after day… I looked at the bright, far-away town below… always waiting. I relied on the food brought to me but, at times, I also attacked passing caravans. Because I look like this, they all assumed a new type of monster had appeared and just ran away. I always feared that rumors would eventually make their way back to town. I didn't want to cause any trouble for the princess and the others staying there… despite that… I still felt that what I was doing was better than going into town myself. Over six months passed since we fled Parthevia. We were completely out of the Reim Empire… because…" The dragon-like Drakon continued his story, telling the group of how Serendine had cut her once long, unusually colored hair to sell.
Drakon also told them of how the princess basically had a mental come-apart after selling her hair for the money of which they bought food with, saying how she cried as spoke of someone walking up to her asking her to sell her body. Tettia and Tora grimaced, that was truly upsetting — for someone of such high birth even be asked that, must have been entirely embarrassing and degrading. "Wow… she really fucking did brake mentally… I couldn't handle living like that… but then again, I can steal food without getting my ass caught," said Tora.
"I agree, she compared her then lifestyle to that of a whore. I would literally rather cut off and sell my hair a million times over before I ever resorted to prostitution. I applaud her for having the self-respect to not do that. No matter how poor you guys were, she refused to sell her body. Most people in your position would have taken up prostitution, I believe regardless of their previous royal or noble status — especially in an 'If I don't do this, we all starve' situation," said Tettia.
"Yes, I agree with you both. However, then she started cursing Sinbad by saying that if he had pledged his loyalty to the country in the first place, then the emperor would not have been murdered and Parthevia would have still been heading for greatness. Princess Serendine called you, Sinbad, our country's bitter enemy and proclaimed that you changed everything," continued Drakon.
Scoffing, Tettia said as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger, "Look, I like her and all… and don't much mind her despite all her flaws, but she's gonna have to stop with that whole 'Sinbad is my bitter enemy, I refuse to cooperate with him, blah, blah, blah; Sinbad is terrible; I hate him' bullshit is gonna have to come to an end."
Sighing, Drakon said, "It's my fault, Lady Tettia. During our time as fugitives, I kept encouraging Princess Serendine to fulfill her obligations as a member of the royal family. Under those circumstances, perhaps the only way she could endure was to direct all her resentment towards you, Sinbad… in the cargo of one of the caravans, I saw the book you wrote… for me, who had no one left to rely on… it seemed like fate. I didn't care from it took… I only hoped for your assistance, but… as you saw earlier, Princess Serendine is consumed by rage towards you. I secretly consumed with Lady Saher, and she encouraged me to bring everyone here. Of course, it seems like the Princess figured it out when she saw the name Sindria Trading Company… and she lost her composure upon realizing she had been tricked into coming here…"
Sinbad laughed weakly as he said, "I think I understand now… so that's what happened, huh?"
"I, too… someone from the Imperial Palace, was resistant to the idea of relying on a person who betrayed our empire… but… it was impossible to continued our travels any further. Both physically and mentally. This is… the truth of our past year," spoke Saher.
Tora felt like someone was listening in on the whole conversation; turning her gaze towards Tettia, the two caught each other's eyes. I think that Seren has been listening in this whole gotdamn time, Tet, the purplenette's pinkish-red eyes said. I know, I know, I heard her breathing the whole time, answered the redhead's crimson orbs.
"Also, Sinbad… there is something I wish to ask of you. It's about Princess Serendine… she's only repeated what is convenient for her… she feels great animosity towards you as a member of the Parthevian royal family which you turned your back on… however, I am unable to protect Princess Serendine or make her happy. And if I cannot do so in this grotesque form, then I want to leave it to someone greater than I… I want you to protect her. There's no one else I can ask… I want to entrust Princess Serendine… to you, Sinbad. That is my wish," said Drakon. Everyone looked at the dragon-like Drakon bowed to Sinbad. "…I beg you."
Sinbad looked at Drakon with his golden orbs. Tettia looked at Sinbad, then darted her eyes to Drakon, then back at Sinbad, waiting for the purple-haired man's answer. "No," he said simply.
"Sin!" exclaimed Tettia as she fell out of the bench in surprise. Tora, though shocked, laughed at her best friend falling over.
Standing up and slapping his hand on the table, Sinbad spoke, "I'm sorry for all you've been through, but she's an important person you have risked your life to protect, isn't she?! You should be the one to protect her, until the very end!"
"But, think about what we told you… I'm just a monster that can't do anything…"
"WRONG!" exclaimed Tettia, springing up off of the floor, also slapping her hands down onto the table. "You're no monster, Drakon!" Her sudden words caused Drakon's eyes to widen in disbelief, why did she say that? Surely Tettia did not believe that he was not a monster.
Sinbad nodded at her proclamation. "You haven't changed at all. Aren't you the exact same Drakon I used to know?" he said, reaching across the table, to put his hands on Drakon's shoulders, continuing, "You're human. A human who sheds tears out of worry, pain, and loneliness. There is no reason for you to give up… if you need strength to keep going, I'll lend you as much as you need! Because, after all… you're my precious friend."
Sinbad… after taking on this appearance… I intended to throw away my life as a human… I thought I would never be human again. I had resigned myself to spending the rest of my life as a monster… but you… you extended your hand to me… thought a crying Drakon. "Thank you…" he thanked in a sniffly voice, "I'm glad I met you… thank you, Sinbad…"
Tettia laughed, "I'm glad I met him, too, Drakon. He's changed my life, in many ways." Serendine's pitter-pattering footsteps retreated from the door, and Tettia's heightened hearing heard this; the half-Fanalis' heart clenched for the princess. Poor princess had been through so much in the last year and Tettia was sure that hearing that conversation had not helped her, in fact, it probably made her feel worse.
Some time later, Drakon and Saher got up to leave. "Sinbad… we are grateful that you listened to our story and sheltered us here. If there is anything we can do in return, please name it. We'll lend all our strength to you," said Drakon.
Looking up at him, Sinbad nodded and answered, "Of course. You're part of my company now. I'll be counting on you."
Drakon looked at Sinbad and spoke, "… Sinbad, there's one last thing… I debated whether or not I should tell you, but… it's probably for the best if you know about my appearance. This strange form I've take is a result of the power of the Household of your Djinn, Baal."
Golden eyes widened in alarm, confusion and shock as Sinbad stuttered out, "W-wha…?!"
"I became part of your Household in Valefor's Dungeon. No, more accurately, I had a Metal Vessel in which the Household chose to reside. In Parthevia, I invoked the power of that Household Vessel. Then, the Household and I were combined into one being. The Household, which is now a part of me, explained all of this to me. The Household Vessel uses the experience and strength of the will of its user as a starting point, and then advances towards assimilation with the Household. This was the solution I was presented with while on the verge of death. 'To sacrifice my body' … that was the pledge I made to the spirit of the Household. In order to be assimilated by the Household, I sacrificed my human body… that's how I came to assume my current form." Sinbad looked on with wide eyes. "If there are other Household Vessel users besides me, be careful. Unless you want to end up like me…"
Ja'far, who was standing away from them, clenched his clothes over his heart. His mouth was slightly agape and his eyes were widened and seemed lifeless yet worried for his own human-self. Tora noticed this and ruffled his hair, saying to him, "Don't worry, Killjoy… nothing like that will happen. It only happened to Drakon because he was on the verge of death in his human body. I bet his human body was in too bad of shape to bounce back from the edge of death, so in order to come back from death and protect those who needed protecting, the Household spirit offered him that as a way to come back." Ja'far looked up at her, the worried expression still ever present, but had diminished slightly at her words.
"…Wait a minute, Drakon… so, it's my fault you look like that…?" asked Sinbad in a worried tone.
Shaking his head side-to-side, Drakon answered, "Don't be conceited. This is something I chose. It's nothing you should feel responsible for! Even without knowing the truth behind it, you were willing to take us in… that's more than enough for me, Sinbad."
Opening his mouth to say something, Sinbad instead sighed and spoke in a certain tone, "…Okay. Then, I too, will follow the path I chose… the same path that you were walking along with all the responsibilities you've shouldered. Let's look after each other from now on, Drakon…" He and Drakon shook hands, then the dragon-like man and Saher took their leave.
The young Ja'far looked, with his ever-still lifeless eyes, at his very own weapon, wondering if what happened to Drakon would happen to him. Tora, once again, noticed this and ruffled his hair more violently than before, telling him not to worry about it — that she would never allow him to be put in a life-or-death situation.
Once they left, Hinahoho spoke up, "Sin, do you really intend to put your trust in Drakon and that princess? That girl bears a grudge against you. It's completely unjustified, and I simply cannot accept it."
Sitting on the window ledge, beside Sinbad once again, Tettia raised her hand in agreement. "I agree with Hina! Seren's grudge against you is complete bullshit and, while I find her easy to be around as of now, I can't accept that it's valid in her eyes."
With his arms crossed, Ja'far spoke, "Frankly… I object. The Sindria Trading Company has only just gotten on the right track. Our whole future lies ahead of us… I understand how you feel, but their existence will cause a disturbance to those around them. If you intend to shelter them, you should do it somewhere else."
"For example, we could see if we can send them to one of our allied countries as guests…" spoke Hinahoho and Tettia.
Sinbad smiled and said, "Yeah. I'll hire them all here at the company."
Nodding, Ja'far said, "Uh huh. Yes, that's good — HUH?!"
"Ja'far… the Sindria Trading Company has really grown, huh?" asked the president of the company.
"Yes, well… we've become a prominent company here in Napolia, but…"
"… I believe that it's all because of the people we have encountered up until now. If one person was missing, it wouldn't have worked. It's because our friends and allies that we've made it this far. But beyond that, I can feel this power around us, like it's some sort of current…" said Sinbad. Tettia laughed and leaned back, almost falling out of the window had Sinbad not snatched her by her waist and pulled her back. "Okay, Tet, with that, I take away your privilege to sit on the window ledge," he said with a grin.
"The fuck you will! I thought there was a wall close to me," retorted the redhead.
Clapping her hands together, Tora got everyone's attention with a loud screech. Once everyone's eyes were one her, she said with huge grin, "Okay everyone, time for bed! I'm fucking tired and I'm ready to cuddle me a Killjoy!"
"What makes you think you're sleeping in my room, Tora?!" asked an annoyed Ja'far.
Tora looked at him with a dangerous smile as she answered, "Because, Killjoy, ya know I'm gonna fucking do it anyways. Therefore, it's fucking best if I just sleep in your gotdamn room. Got a problem with that?"
"Oh shit! Well, I mean, it's not like there are anymore rooms here, Jaffy. Drakon and the girls took the last rooms, aye?" spoke Tettia.
Soon, Ja'far groaned and said, "Fuck it! Do what you want, Tora!" Everyone laughed at his frustrated exclamation.
Tettia yawned and threw one of her arms into the air as she stretched. "Welp, I'm tired~ Sin, can we go to bed now?" Sinbad smiled, rolled his eyes and everyone went to their own rooms for a night of sleep.
The next day, Serendine and Tamira were walking down the hallway when they came across Sinbad and Tettia. "Good morning, Lord Sinbad!" exclaimed Tamira.
Sinbad and Tettia gave each other a look and then promptly waved at the two, saying, "Did you sleep well, young lady?"
Bowing, Tamira spoke in a quick jumble of words, "I, Tamira, wish to thank you for granting us food and lodging…!"
Chuckling, Sinbad replied, "No need to speak of last night, because I'm going to let you stay as long as you like."
"Huh?! What do you mean…?!" she asked.
Tettia smiled at Tamira and said sweetly, "Just ask Drakon~"
Tamira then looked behind her at Saher and Drakon. Sinbad and Tettia then looked at Serendine, who looked away before sighing. She casted her head downwards and walked off. "Well then… that was… different…" whispered Tettia to Sinbad. Nodding, Sinbad agreed. That was when the two of them heard a lot of noise coming from the front of the building. "Wanna go see what's going on out there?" she asked, knowing he would say yes.
"Yeah, might as well," came his answer. Tettia smiled and followed after the purple-haired man as they walked to the front. The scene they saw when they entered the room was one of guards taking stuff. The duo's eyes widened and they looked at each other. "What did you do," whispered Tettia. "Nothing… that I can recall," answered Sinbad.
Ja'far bursted in front the two, exclaiming, "Police officers… why are they here?!"
Jokingly, Tora hid behind Ja'far, saying, "Oh fuck! The bastards caught up to me! Tet, I warned you they would!"
Realizing that she was joking, Tettia went along with it, "Shit! Tor, you gotta hide!"
Believing the two were being serious, Ja'far and Sinbad looked at them with wide eyes. "What did you do, T—?!"
Tora covered their mouths, telling them to shush. "Don't ask questions! Tet, hand me the biggest layer of your skirt! I need a mask!" Tettia rolled her eyes, removed the largest layer of her multi-layered skirt and handed it to Tora. Immediately, the purplenette covered her hair and a large portion of her face, leaving only her eyes to be seen. "Masking complete!"
"Why, you ask? What are you saying, after repeatedly ignoring our notices?! We've finally caught you!" exclaimed a guard. "Building such a hug company… there had to be something fishy going on… and anyway, we thought you were suspicious from the very beginning. After all, you are the ones who set up an unauthorized street stall and made money telling stories. We haven't forgotten any of that! Hahaha!" exclaimed another guard.
Ja'far stared at them with a blank expression, "Ah, the guys from back then. Tora, you liar. Huh… but, what sort of notice are you talking about? I don't recall seeing anything like that…"
Laughing, Tora returned Tettia's layer to her, which she immediately put back. "You're the dumbass who believed, Killjoy."
The two guards sputtered, "How can you say that?! In spite of the fact that the Sindria Trading Company has accumulated a huge of debt, you have yet to repay even a single coin, and the deadline is today!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" exclaimed Ja'far and Tora, the latter falling over.
The guards sighed, "It's true. So we've come here today to seize your company in compensation for the loans you defaulted on. It's your own fault for not paying anything despite receiving countless notices!"
"W-wait! I don't remember any loans!" exclaimed Sinbad.
"That's right! There must be some sort of mistake," said Ja'far.
"I have a contract," said the short, stumpy guard in a snarky attitude as he held up a contract.
Snatching the contract from the guards, Tettia glared a glare so dangerous that could kill (if looks could kill) at the two guards. Walking back over to Sinbad, the redhead handed the contract to Ja'far. They all looked at the contract. "He… he's right! And that looks like our seal. Who could have done this…?" asked Ja'far out loud.
Vittel was sitting in a corner, far away from everyone, chittering to himself. Sinbad and everyone looked over at him. "It's over… I've been found out by Sinbad and everyone else… I'm finished… what will that cute purplenette think of me now…" Vittel muttered to himself.
With his jaw-dropped, Sinbad stuttered out, "…it can't be… Vittel, it was you?!"
Tora gasped and looked at Vittel with her mouth covered. "Duuuuuuuuude…" she said in a drawn out manner.
"WAAAAAAAH! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! It's all my fault. I'm sorryyy! WAAAAAAAAAAH!" cried Vittel hysterically.
Almost immediately, Tora was patting his back in a comforting way. "Whoa, calm down, Vittel. Don't blow a gasket on us, okay?" she asked with a gentle smile and surprisingly with no profanity.
"What in the world happened?" asked Hinahoho and Tettia.
Ja'far looked at the pinkish-purple haired man and said in a low, almost threatening way, "Vittel, explain how you racked up such a large debt. Right now."
"Hey, hey. Calm down, Killjoy. No need to threaten poor Vittel," counter Tora with her own brand of venom in her tone.
Vittel looked at Tora, amazed at the venom in her voice. He then looked at Ja'far and nodded. "… okay. The truth is… after you all sailed for Sasan…due to a number of accidents at sea, our company's trade deficit began to rise. I reworked our budget, cut down on unnecessary expenses, and did everything I could think of to get us out of debt… but no matter what I did, it didn't go well. That was when… that woman appeared, saying 'If you've lost something, you just need to replace it.' She was the head of a prominent company, distinguished even in the capital of Remano, and because our efforts to raise money, she came to us with an investment opportunity," he began his tale. Tora was still rubbing his back, trying to keep him calm. "She introduced us to goods from an emerging nation… goods that would be a valuable investment… she said they'd definitely be profitable! On top of that, we didn't have to pay cash for them, and were told that it would be an exchange of good faith between us… so I made up my mind and requested goods worth more than our company's assets!"
"Sounds like a bad idea, Vit," said Tettia.
Vittel rubbed the back of his head as he continued, "I thought that nothing could go wrong, but… while I looked on in horror… the value of the goods we invested in dropped… and it's stayed that way ever since… and now we're left with a debt more than ten times what those goods are worth… but please forgive me! I thought I was doing right by our company. I never imagine it would turn out like this…!"
Ja'far took out his weapon and threw one at Vittel, hitting the wall right by the left side of his head. Vittel shook in fear as he looked at the weapon. "…Investment? Debt? Just what the hell did you go and do, ya bastard…!? It was for the company? Ain't got nothin' to do with that… the problem is, how're we gonna pay off this debt? A bastard like you… should pay with his life, shouldn't he?!" Ja'far exclaimed in a dangerous voice, like he was a completely different person. Not to mention he was brandishing his weapons.
Tettia and Tora looked at the young killjoy, surprised by this dark side. That was when they remembered that Ja'far had been an assassin sent to capture Sinbad back in the day, during the duo's present. Never mind, that explains his attitude. But fucking shit, man, that's such a drastic change from the change in attitude that Tor and me are used to, thought Tettia to herself.
"I'll kill you, dammit!" yelled Ja'far as he threw his arms into the air.
Vittel shook and cried out in fear. Sinbad spoke, hesitantly, "Ja'far! Ca-calm down… you've gone back to your old habits!"
Ja'far growled at Sinbad, "Shut it! I ain't about to let some small fry order me around!"
Tora pulled Vittel close to her, in order to avoid death by the angry killjoy. "Nope. I don't think so, Mister Killjoy. Not today. No killing. Bad," said Tora, continuously moving Vittel from Ja'far aim. "Hina, can you please restrain that gotdamn Killjoy?" Hinahoho nodded and grabbed Ja'far. Tora stopped manhandling Vittel, sat down on the ground, and asked him, "Are ya okay, Vittel?"
"…Yes…" came his answer.
Sinbad kneeled beside them and said to Vittel, "Why didn't you tell us all this sooner? If only you had…"
Blood red eyes looked up at Sinbad. "…I couldn't tell you… I saw how much fun you were having, and I just couldn't say anything… Sinbad… I'm sorry…" cried the pinkish-purple haired man.
"Me too… I'm sorry I didn't notice the situation you were in…" Sinbad also apologized.
Tettia came up behind Sinbad and leaned over him, to nuzzle his cheek, quietly saying, "It really is your fault, Sin~ You're so unobservant~"
Sinbad looked over at her as he retorted, "I'm observant enough to notice certain things, thank you very much!"
Being uncharacteristically nice, Tora played with Vittel's hair, trying to stop his apologizing. "Don't fucking worry about it, Vittel. It's in the past, there's nothing you can do now to change the past," she said. "Anyway, Captain Moron, we must disclaim this as quickly as fucking possible. Vittel, can you show us all the documents concerning your investment and all the goods you exchanged?"
Looking up at her in awe, Vittel blushed slightly as he nodded. "Y-yeah. I can. Follow me," he said, getting up from the floor and walking to the records.
As everyone followed him to the records, Tettia grabbed her best friend by the shoulder and kept her in the room. Once Sinbad and the other three males were out of sight, she whisper-yelled, "You like Vit~!"
Looking over at the redhead, Tora cocked her eyebrows in confusion as she replied, "What the fuck are you spouting, Tet?"
Grinning like a madwoman, Tettia spoke again, "I said that you like Vit! Why else wouldn't you use profanity while trying to calm someone down?! I only ever knew you to do that with Mas! Gasp, is Vit the guy you liked before Mas?!"
Shoving her friend's hand off her shoulder, Tora clarified in a low voice, "God no! Back during my first gotdamn go-round with King Moron, way back when, I joined up with him when I was fucking three and he was fourteen after he saved my life. Vittel was fourteen years older than me, so no, Tet, I did not like him before Massy. There was nobody my age who I could like. The only person I coulda fucking liked before Massy was Killjoy, who was still a good seven or eight years older than me. I was the youngest member of the Sindria Trading Company, kicking ass from the tender age of five."
"But you like Vit this go-round~ don't'cha~?" asked Tettia.
Tora rolled her pinkish-red eyes. "I mean, he's cute, I won't fucking lie. But, Tet, fucker gets married at some point. I vaguely remember his wife. PLUS, I still want Massy…"
Now it was Tettia turn to roll her eyes. With a sigh, she pointed out, "But you can't have Masrur, Tor. You're too old for him with your current age. Not to mention there's no spell that can revert your age to be closer to Mas in age. How old was he when you first met him again?"
"Seven. He was seven and I was five," came her crisp answer.
"Uh-huh… well, you're twenty years old and he's about seven right now. That's a pretty big age difference, Tor. I see no possible way that you can regress your age to be closer to his age, without the others wondering what the hell you're doing. You're gonna have to move on…"
Tora growled, "Fuck you! I will do what I want! And I'll have you know that there's a fucking spell for anything! I want my gotdamn husband, Tet, and that's who I'm gonna fucking end up with! Nobody else, you hear me?! I can revert my age right now!"
Scoffing, Tettia did not believe her purplenette friend. "Oh yeah? Ya can, can ya? And can you revert yourself back to being twenty? Or will you be stuck being whatever younger age… just like we're stuck here, in this time, with no way to get back home?!"
Gasping, Tora huffed, "Oh! Bitch! You did not just go there! The only reason we can't go the fuck back is because I don't know what I fucking did to get us here in the gotdamn first place! Plus, it's not like you have much to live for back there! Your precious Alibaba is dead!"
"You know that's wrong! I still had Laddin, Tor! He was, no, he is my best friend — the first best friend I ever had. You know how much he means to me, so don't you ever say I have no reason to live there: I wanted to live for Laddin!" exclaimed Tettia. At that point of the conversation, the duo had gone from quiet whispers to rather loud bickering.
"Ughhhh! Ya know what, fuck this! Fuck you, I'm turning eleven! Just to prove a gotdamn point!" shouted Tora. Chanting a magic incantation, a poof of smoke surrounded the purplenette. When the smoke cleared, there stood Tora, as an eleven-year-old. Her once shoulder-length purple hair had grown to come to her chest, which was nearly flat compared to her twenty-year-old self's chest. "Yeah, fuck you, Tet! Didn't think I was fucking serious, did ya?!"
Tettia looked down at her best friend with wide eyes. "Oh! So you can fucking turn yourself into your eleven-year-old self, consider me impressed," she said.
Crossing her arms, little Tora snickered, "Gotdamn right I did. Serves you right for thinking I couldn't do it."
Ja'far popped his head into the room and saw Tora's appearance. The only reason he knew it was Tora was because of the unmistakeable look and aura Tora gave off. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "I'm not even going to ask why Tora looks like that. You both missed out on what we were doing for a petty argument, really? Anyway, Sin went to find the woman who sold Vittel the goods, that went down in price. By the way, it was only those goods Vittel bought that saw such a rapid decrease in price — meaning that that woman purposely did that so our Company would shut down."
"That's just peachy, ain't it, Killjoy?" asked the now young Tora.
Rubbing the back of her neck, Tettia said, "Yeah… it's best that you don't ask, Jaffy. For your information, it wasn't a fucking petty argument, it wasn't even an argument. Just a heated talk between best friends. Also, god that sounds fucking terrible. I know Sin will get things back to normal in no time flat."
Ja'far crossed his arms and looked at Tettia. "Yeah, it really is," he said, then he looked at Tora, "so, is this a permanent thing? I assume you're a magician, Tora."
Tora laughed. "I can make it a permanent thing, if ya want, Killjoy~" she teased him with a wink. "But, no, I can go back to being twenty whenever in the fuck I damn-well please. And yes, I'm a magician… who really prefers to use physical force over actual magic usage. Thought I explained this already?"
The purplenette's teasing had Ja'far blushing slight, almost uncharacteristically. "It's y-you're decision…" he said.
"Awwww! Blushing Jaffy is adorable!" gushed Tettia.
Tora looked at Ja'far, noticed his blush, and smiled deviously. "So~ with that fucking blush on your face, I can tell that you want me to stay this age~" she continued to tease. The blush did not leave the young Ja'far's face, oh Tora was going to enjoy this. The purplenette knew that she would probably stay eleven for a little bit.
Vittel walked into the room and gaped at the young Tora. "W-wasn't she older?!" he asked hysterically, clearly confused.
Looking back at him, Tettia answered him, "Oh yeah. Mentally, she's still twenty. But, physically, Tor transformed herself into an eleven-year-old… just to prove a point to me, Vit."
Pointing to myself, Vittel asked, "Am I Vit?"
"Aye, you're Vit, Vittel," said Tettia. "Hope ya don't mind me calling ya that."
Vittel smiled and answered, "I'm okay with that… Tettia, right?"
"Oh puh-lease, call me Tet, Vit," said Tettia.
"Okay, Tet," answered Vittel, smiling at her.
Meanwhile, Tora was still teasing Ja'far, talking about how much she could not wait to cuddle with him later that day. The constant teasing had Ja'far storming off from the room, the young Tora following after him, still teasing him. Tettia and Vittel watched them as they stormed through the building. "Well then… that's going to be happening all day. Now that she's found what gets to Jaffy, she won't let up for a while. Promise you that she will still be hanging off of Jaffy, though," said Tettia.
"I'm just going to believe you on that one, Tet. I don't know you or Tora very well," said Vittel.
Placing a hand on the pinkish-purple haired man's shoulder, Tettia smiled at him. "You will get to know us, Vit."
"Yeah!" exclaimed a smiling Vittel.