[Hermes]
"You couldn't even cook a proper meal, you damned brat!" I covered my ears as he kept scolding me for my 'normal' cooking
"GDI old geezer, don't shout at my ear! And if you had a heart attack, it your own fault!" he huffed and crossed his arms together
"You talking back at me now, brat?! Clean the kitchen! If I see a speck of dust, I'm throwing you out!" then he walked away with the slamming-door effect. I sweat dropped and sighed. This old geezer is really heartless. That cold bastard makes me want to quit the quest already. But think about it! The wine bottle looked like a good offer and 85,000,000 beri. If only I don't need money, I would've flipped the tables off and gave a middle finger in his face. But nooooo… I didn't! Cause I still have respect for him as an elder. And besides, I believe on the quote 'Don't judge a book by its cover…'
"Ugh… I should start cleaning… AGAIN…" since I don't want to delay anything, I started cleaning at the sink then at the stove. I kept all the cooking utensils and washed the dishes. I also mopped the floor then cleaned the kitchen table and made sure that I didn't leave a single dirt. Once satisfied with all my cleaning, I looked at the sparkling kitchen with a proud smile.
"Heh, I hope the Old man appreciates this…" then I left the kitchen to look for the geezer.
"Oiiiii~ Old geezer~? Are you here~?" I went to the counter but he was nowhere to be found. I just shrugged it off and seated near the counter where I left my basket of flowers.
"Hmmm… Since I have nothing to do, I might as well try some things…" I took all the flowers from the basket with my bare hands
"Inventory…" my inventory window popped and I inserted the flowers into it and disappeared that startled me
'Obtained: Fear Flowers *14'
"Ahhh, so as long as I shove it in this window, it will enter in my inventory? I wonder what the capacity it has… And also, will I feel the weight of my things if I put it in? I remember that STR can increase the capacity of the inventory. But I don't want to be a hitter, I just want to be an assist…" I sighed and closed the window. I touched my ear and felt the irritation from the flower. I took the flower off and looked at it silently
"Poisonous… huh… You really are similar to Kid… He's a freaking bastard and would hurt me but in the end, I managed to like him. Maybe I'm a masochist? Or I'm just too used to pain…" I whispered and gave it a small smile.
"Maybe I'm just a fan of red…" I returned it to my ear even though it was already itching from irritation. I stood up, stretched and yawned from tiredness. I didn't really do anything yet (yeah, cleaning up the whole wrecked up kitchen back in the ship was nothing at all) but I already feel sleepy and hungry.
"What are you slacking off for, you brat?!" oh, the old guy came back with a sack of something that I don't know. I scratched me head and looked away
"Actually, I'm done cleaning the kitchen, so can I take my break now? I'll just get lunch…" he just ignored me and went towards the kitchen. I sighed and exited, since I really need to eat something and get a little afternoon nap.
"Pssssst! Onii~chan! Over here!" I looked around to see the little girl who sold me flowers hiding in the bushes. I wonder what she is doing in there. Normally, girls would hide under it because of the bugs and ants. But this girl is weird, and it seems that she was there because of me.
"What's up?"she pulled me in the bush making me stumble
"Ouch!" she shushed me and then motioned me to get closer
"Nii~chan! You came out from Mayor's bar right? Right?!" she shook me hard that made my head spin
"Wait—WAIT! Stop! My head hurts!" she stopped and looked at me with a worried face
"Really? Sorry! Anyway come with me! I'm going to show you something!" huh? Didn't she just ask me about the Old Man? Maybe she'll let me something about the Old Man's past? Then it will be good, since I could get a hint on how I could complete the quest.
"Where are we going..?" we both made our way to the secluded area of this island that made me a bit confused. I wonder what this little girl is planning. If she plans to do something, I'll be in trouble, worse if I get really hungry in that time…
"Onni~chan, Mayor is really a good man right? You know it right?" she suddenly asked out of the blue that startled me.
"Uuuhhh… well, he's kinda nice for letting me take a lunch break…" Well, at least I gave the most valid reason. Cuz all he does is nag nag nag until he decides to walk out and slam the door.
"Mayor is a good guy! If he wasn't then he would've left the island a long time ago!" she stopped walking and looked at me with teary eyes
"Please… please help Mayor smile again! It is the first time since there was a person who would stay with him in a long time! I beg of you! Please help him smile! Winter Island won't return if he doesn't!" she cried and fell on her knees. I looked at her in a blank expression while figuring out what she just said.
Winter Island… that would be a weird name to call this island if you ask me… Since there is no snow and it's humid in here.
"Little girl, can you tell me why this island is called winter island..?" I kneeled down and patted her head. She sniffed and looked at me with puffy red eyes
"Because Kami~chan wanted to change Mayor, the snow disappeared together with Fuyu~chan…" she wiped her tears and suddenly pulled me towards somewhere with speed. I was confused but a smell suddenly caught my attention that made my eyes widen.
This is..!
This time, I was the one pulling her towards the place where the scent came from. There was a bright red color shimmering in front of us. I gasped one we finally reached our destination.
"This is…" I wanted to cry, squeal or anything just to get this message inside my chest out. It was beautiful! One Fear Flower was enough to make my heart skip beat but a valley of them? Seriously, the author of this story is trying to kill me…
"These are all taken care of Mayor! See?! If he can grow a fragile red flower, then he is a good guy!" I looked at the kid for a while and sighed. I guess I have someone to push me when I am tired of this quest
"Then I have no choice… I'll make your Mayor smile… as long as I can still handle it…" she smiled and hugged my knees (since she's a shorty)
"Thank you thank you thank you! I promise I'll help you out with anything!" I once again patted her hair and smiled.
"Well, can you tell me everything I want to know?" she nodded happily determined on helping me…
Break the Ice… eh? It's more like I'm going to melt it…
[With Kid and Killer]
Kid cursed out loudly from not noticing. The little brat was missing again! He went off to god knows where. Didn't he make it a little bit clear to him? He's job was to follow him like what bitches do when they see him. But what? Look was he's doing! He just annoys the hell out of him. When the time comes that he loses the temper, he'd kill him and hang his head at the mast.
"Kid, where are you headed off to? If you do any trouble, we can't—"
"Fuck! I know god damn it! Why do you have to tell me this while you let off that little shit?!" Killer gave him his 'do-I-have-to-explain' face
"Because he is obviously more dependable that you are. And also, even though he's not the type to follow orders, he would be obedient to the ones who he owe…"Kid looked at him with his angry expression
"Why the hell would he owe me?" Killer sighed and crossed his arms together
"More like owe 'ME'… The kid knows how to repay back to someone who helps him in any kind of way. For example, me giving him allowance. He barely brought money with him so he looks at it as a form of help. So we'll be sure that he'll stay with us in awhile." Kid groaned and doesn't want to listen. It didn't make sense, since the brat could just run away from his captors with money. He could use the money to travel in another ship to successfully escape. But the kid has a different way of thinking.
"Che! How could you even know about that…" both started walking around the town getting most of the attention of the people. They were alert and were hinting fear, which was making Kid a bit of amused.
"I got it that idea from the Merman Island… I didn't actually expect him to return but he ended up helping our escape. He returned even without us looking for him." Kid snorted at him making Killer sigh. No matter what kind of explaining he would make, it is assured that the other man will only understand half of it…
"O-onii~chan… you eat too much…" they both perked their ears from what they heard. Eat too much, that sentence gave them the feeling that the person they were looking for was present.
"*gulp* It can't be helped, I still have to work back at that Old man's bar. And besides, I over worked today because of a certain SOMEONE. But I should thank my ability, I would've passed out if it wasn't for it…" he laughed out loudly never even minding the mess on his face. Killer sighed at seeing his childishness. But Kid on the other hand, got annoyed for one reason. His smile, he's pissed on seeing that smile. That's why he charged towards the talking kids and grabbed a fistful of hair to the person who annoyed him
"Wha— Awawawawaw awtsu! WTF! Kid?! GDI LET ME GO IT HURTS!" he smiled at the pained expression of Hermes. But he stopped when he noticed the irritation in the kid's ear where the red flower is placed. He let go and looked at him blankly.
"Bastard! What did you do that for?! Sadist! Idiot! No life!" he randomly said some insults that obviously won't work. This kept on happening 'till Killer finally decided to question the poor guy
"Oi, brat. Where the hell have you been?" He said with a cold harsh voice but was only returned with a nervous smile
"Well— Uuuhhh— You see… I took a little part time here and I also want to join the song festival this evening… So I'll be preparing so that I could get the 1ST place." Killer nodded and looked at Kid
"Let's go. We still have more things to attend to…"
"But what about this shit?! Aren't you going to bring him with us?!" Kid was obviously angry but Killer ha to cut him off
"We don't need him. He's useless for now." He remained silent but then followed his vice captain obediently leaving the poker faced teen and the scared little girl
"O-onii~chan… are you okay..?" her voice sounded so shaky so the teen had no choice but to smile fraudly to comfort the girl
"Yeah… Onni~chan is fine… I think I should return now… Do what I told you to, okay?" she nodded but still looked worried.
'… I'll get used to it… like always…'
Then they both parted ways to prepare for their plan. The mission Break the Ice has already started!
/TO BE CONTINUED/
Yo yo yo~! Since I have nothing to say, I'll just reply to the reviews I received ^…^
Gloeckchne-chan: Wahahaha, IKR! Hermes name is a bit ridiculous but I have a reason for naming him like that. I really am honored to receive your first review even though my story is a bit stupid (seriously). There's only a bit reviewers but I'm fine with that! As long as someone cares, I can continue without doubting. And also, Kid and Hermes hart hart bonding will be coming shortly (I hope you understood what I meant xD) so I hope you continue supporting this experimental fic!
Imacchi 11229: Actually, I don't understand the mission myself. I just got that random idea and wrote it without planning. But I'll find a way to make it good. And thanks for reading the new fic I made! I was just trying my new writing style. I hope I didn't mess up though :D
Anyways, thank you for the reviews and please continue reading and supporting! I love you all!
—June_Venoia(Anoia)