Disclaimer: Do not own One Piece. All plot and OCs belong to Volleys-chan and I.
The Dragon Chronicles
Chapter 15 - Afresh
"Few things can help an individual more than to place responsibility on him, and to let him know that you trust him."
-Booker T. Washington
Rei eventually got over her shock of finally reaching Water 7. She couldn't help but sense the irony that after all this time, she was finally here and was destined to meet someone, or maybe even multiple someones, who her life was suppose to intertwine with. She wondered if maybe she could find a swordsmaster here upon this island, and if so, would he or she be willing to train a young drake like herself?
Rei had to believe that someone would be willing to take a risk to train her. She sat for a while on the little patch of earth, staring at the water metropolis as the sun slowly rose higher in the sky. She knew that she was an early riser and the city would still be barely waking up, so she waited a bit before slowly trekking towards the streets of Water 7. She marveled a bit at how the city was set up, with the canal separating the two sides of the street. She reminded herself to be careful since she was a hammer in water and would no doubt drown if she fell in.
As she got closer to where more people were, she quickly learned something about humans. Most, if not all, had no mental barriers to speak of and pretty much blasted their thoughts so anyone with telepathic abilities would be clutching their head at the sheer volume of each thought. Rei nearly doubled over from the agony, clutching her head and quickly drawing up mental barriers to keep from hearing each and every passing thought. The few people on the street she had been walking on had given her a weird, worried look, but she waved off their concerns as she collected herself and continued forward with a slight blush.
She hadn't had such issue on Drum Island but perhaps that was because she hadn't been as adapt at telepathy as she was now. Since dragons were mainly telepathic creatures, they only projected their thoughts out into the open if they wished to speak to those around them. Having one's mind open to receiving telepathic thoughts was considered polite and respectful, but Rei was already quickly amending herself that humans were not dragons and thus she could keep her mind closed to receiving telepathic communication. If there was someone on this island capable such a thing, they would have to appeal to her before she even dared to open her mind to receiving communication via telepathy again.
As she continued to walk about the streets of Water 7, Rei noticed a lot of things about humans she had forgotten. One, that there were a lot of them and even when not receiving every thought that crossed their mind telepathically, they were noisy, smelled vastly different than dragons (and not always for the best), and, for lack of a nicer way for her to put it at that moment, greedy. She knew not everyone was greedy, but it seemed that she had managed to stumble across a open market and everyone was bidding the people passing by to look and buy their wares. Another thing that was different than her usually quiet dragons, who spoke telepathically mostly and only made a few accompany noises, like thrumming, purring, or growling when not speaking Drako, was how little they cared about each other.
Sure, there were a few people exchanging pleasantries, but mostly, people just walked by each other without even eye contact or acknowledging the other. Unless one was like Rei, who did not look like she belonged. Rei was getting plenty of stares as she walked down the streets. The people on the streets, being street vendors, their customers, or maybe even acquaintances talking amongst themselves, all seemed to whisper to each other about her, unaware that she could hear their every word. From her shoeless feet, to her worn down skirt and shirt, to her long, wild hair, and, of course, her eyes.
Rei worked hard at ignoring them all as she kept walking, exploring Water 7 like she had intended to do once upon a time with her family. She was not going to let a few nosy people ruin her first day in Water 7.
The rudy eyed girl continued her trek, exploring the marketplace in silent wonder as she reintroduced herself slowly with the human culture once more, slowly recalling things she had long forgotten in her absence, like bartering, supply and demand, and other things she had been familiar with as the daughter of a merchant. She watched one woman haggle with a street vendor over the price of a trinket until the price was more in her price range before buying it. It was amazing how easily she cajoled the man into bringing the price down, but Rei had a sneaking suspicion that the merchant had inflated the price to begin with.
Soon, it was no longer early morning and more and more people were out and about, causing more shops to be open as well. Rei could have honestly continued her trek through Water 7 in her continued silent observation had she not been drawn to one of the street vendors that opened not too long ago. There was a young boy manning the shop at that moment, perhaps around her age, maybe older, she wasn't certain, but it was his merchandise that truly caught her attention.
"Good morning," the boy at the shop greeted her, resting the weight of his body into his hands against the counter as he leaned forward a bit. "You interested in the masks we have?"
Rei studied the boy a bit, again, she could tell her was not a child, but not an adult. A drake like her, if she could surmise. He had hazelnut colored hair and dark brown eyes and a kind smile. She returned a smile to him as she nodded.
"Thy masks art beautiful and finely crafted." Rei told him truthfully.
She lived with craft dragons and had long learned to appreciate finely crafted pieces such as these masks. The boy blinked, shocked at her manner of speech as he tried to process what she had said.
"Ooookay..." He coughed a bit and tried again. "Not from around here are you?"
"Nay. This one hath just arrived recently." Rei was completely unaware that someone would think her manner of speaking odd. It had been a long time since she had 'talked like a human' as Kureha had put it one time and did not realize her faux pas.
"I can sorta tell..." The kid couldn't help but say aloud, already trying to figure out what to do with her. Damn it, if he had known she wasn't from around here and was quite the weirdo, he wouldn't have initiated conversation. Well. Too late now. "Are you traveling with your family?"
Rei paused for a second, but saw no harm in telling him the truth. "Nay, this one hath no parents. She hath not had parents since she was but a young child."
"So, you're all alone?" Curious brown eyes bore into hers.
"Indeed."
"And you have no where to go?"
"Thou art correct in thy assumptions, but fear not, this one tis not afflicted by this. She is use to camping under the stars."
"Well," he drawled as he tried to find the words to explain to the foreigner, "That's nice and all, but here if a minor is without parents, they are expected to be taken to the orphanage till they are at least eighteen." Before Rei could interrupt, he put his hands up in a defensive manner as he continued to speak. "I'm not saying that you go to the orphanage. To be honest, the orphanage sucks, so some kids without families find sanctuary elsewhere. They would be more than agreeable in adding you while you're here."
"They?" Rei was now curious. Perhaps she could find these other kids and stay with them until she found herself a swordsmaster or left Water 7 to continue her journey.
"Yeah, ever since anyone can remember, there were always some kids who refused to go to the orphanage and took to looking out for themselves. They're known as the Mizu Mizu Tribe and its always been an endless cycle of kids joining and leaving when they are old enough to get real jobs or apprenticeships." He rubbed the back of his neck as he laughed a bit embarrassedly. "I use to be one of those kids before the leader of the Mizu Mizu Tribe managed to get me an apprenticeship at this shop. Now the old man that owns the shop lets me stay with him as I train to learn his craft. I'm Aron, by the way."
"This one is known as Rei." Rei nodded her head, a kind smile on her lips. "Prithee, willst thou tell this one where she may find thy previous leader so she may attain sanctuary during her stay here?"
Aron looked at her blankly again as he tried to figure out what she was saying. "Kaito? You wanna meet Kaito and ask him about staying with the Mizu Mizu tribe?" He was given a nod of agreement by the strange, ruby eyed girl, allowing him to know he had guessed correctly. "Yeah, sure, no problem. It's still early morning, so we don't get a lot of customers just yet. Let me see if that bastard has his Den Den Mushi with him or if I have to set fire to something to get his damn attention."
He quickly rectified his verbatim when Rei's eyes widened at the idea of him setting fire to something just to get one person's attention. "Sorry, that was just a little bit of sarcasm. I'm not about to set fire to anything. And please, excuse the language. I'm not suppose to speak that way around customers, but Kaito is kinda a bastard at times when it comes to getting in contact with him. He is suppose to have a Den Den Mushi on him at all times, just incase of an event like this, where a kid needs his help, but he's not one for carrying around, as he puts it, 'a friggin' ball and chain'. He hates being tied down like that, so hopefully one of the kids duct taped it to his person this morning before he started making his rounds."
He smiled when he heard the girl laugh at what he said, his eyes gentling at bit as he looked at this foreign orphan. "Ah, I'm glad you laugh like a normal girl. With your get-up and manner of talking, I was wondering from what era you might have stepped out of by mistake."
Rei blushed a bit at his comment, unsure of what he meant. She looked down at her clothes, fussing with them a bit to see if there was anything wrong with them. Sure, they had once belong to a much older woman than herself, but it wasn't too outdated, right? Aron seemed to notice her confusion.
"Ah, don't sweat it for now. Wait till I get Kaito over here, he'll be more than happy to point out what I'm talking about and then I won't have to look like that jerk-face." Aron nearly sang that last part.
Like hell he wanted to look bad in front of a pretty girl like her, albeit a strange one. Rei just gave him an odd look before nodding, Aron ushered to the side of the shop, bidding her to sit on a stool he pulled out before getting a Den Den Mushi from the back of the storefront and beginning to input the number of this Kaito person, who was apparently the leader of the Mizu Mizu Tribe.
Rei wasn't sure what to expect from him, since all she had gleamed so far was that he was quite possibly irresponsible, since he did not carry around a Den Den Mushi all the time when it seemed required of him, and, if Aron's description of him was to be take to heart, a bastard. But she was determined to withhold judgment until she met the alleged leader of the group of orphan kids on Water 7.
Aron dialed the number with no success a few times, splitting his focus on calling Kaito and any passerby that seemed interested in his wares. Rei respectfully kept her hands to herself as she waited for him to get in contact with his former leader. After a few more tries, the line was finally connected.
"Yeah..." The voice grumbled irritatedly as the Den Den Mushi made a groggy expression.
"Oh, sorry princess, did I wake you from your sweet dreams?" Rei could sense the insincerity drip from his words.
"Damn straight, you did." Was the grumpy response. Rei could hear some grunting and groaning as the person on the other side stretched. "Something better be on fire if you're calling me."
"I thought about it." Aron quipped back, "but I decided against arson to try and get your attention and just call you till you picked up your damn Den Den Mushi, you lazy ass."
"I have been up for the last 24 hours dealing with shit. Don't you dare start calling me a lazy ass just because I finally found a spare moment to catch a few 'Z's" There was more grunting and groaning and the snail gave the pained expression of the other caller.
Aron's attitude turned serious. "Something up?"
"Che, just that idiotic, no good thug Zambai and his entourage. The situation is handled, just don't let him catch you around any back alley ways for a bit. He's still pissed, I think." There was a yawn before Kaito continued. "So, what'd you wake me up for?"
"Ah," Aron glanced at her, giving her a quick, playful smile and a wink. "A real cute foreigner came across my shop. Don't know where she's from, all I know is that she's looking for a place to stay while in Water 7 and she's all by herself. Wants to know if you'll... what did she say... Ah, she wants to speak to you to see if she can 'attain sanctuary during her stay'."
Rei wasn't sure, but she swore she heard the Den Den Mushi mutter "Of course it's a girl. It's always a damn girl with you..." But Aron didn't seem to hear it so she was wondering if she misheard.
"Okay, okay." Another yawn. "I'll be there eventually to pick her up. Just tell her to not wander the hell off."
"Hey, hey, hey." Aron chanted, raising his voice a little bit. "Look, Kaito, I don't mind having a cute girl hanging around, but if my master sees her, he's going to get pissed. I'm a mask maker, not a damn babysitter-" He quickly waved his hand and gave her an assuring smile, "Not that you're a baby that needs supervision."
"Yup, it's a girl alright." Kaito grumbled on the other side of the connection, before letting out one more groan, one that made Rei think that he was getting up. "I'll be over soon. Just keep it in your pants, you girl-crazy shithead."
"At least I'm not a lazy ass, grumpy bastard like you." Aron threw back.
"Nope. I'm glad I am not put in the same category as you, moron."
"Cocky assed shitface." Aron easily threw back at him.
The Den Den Mushi didn't even look fazed by the name calling as the other person let out another long, drawn out yawn. Kaito spoke only near the end of his yawn, nonchalant in his attitude over the whole thing. "Aren't you at work?"
"Shit." Aron looked around making sure that no potential customer heard him swearing like that just seconds ago. He looked relieved when the street was relatively empty and no one was giving him the evil eye.
"Watch your mouth before you lose customers, idiot." Kaito lectured.
"Yeah, yeah, boss, thanks for looking out for me." Aron said rather endearingly, his eyes gentling as he continued to speak with the same lad that he had just been tossing names at only seconds ago. Rei could tell that though they liked to cajole one another, they both had each other's backs and had a firm friendship.
"I'll be there soon. So hang up the damn Den Den Mushi and watch the chick for a bit till I get there. I don't want another repeat of the last time someone called me to inform me of a stray."
"That was not me, and you don't have to worry about me losing track of her." Aron affirmed rather haughtily.
"Damn, she must be cute since you're unwilling to draw your eyes away." Kaito teased.
"Cute and hearing every word coming through the Den Den Mushi." Aron confirmed with a wiry smirk.
"Damn it. You suck, you bastard."
"Takes one to know one, I guess."
"Ka-chack." Kaito apparently hung up the Den Den Mushi because shortly afterwards the snail closed its eyes and went back to sleep.
Aron turned to his head to look at Rei's curious expression. "He'll be here soon. And forgive the language, its been a while since I had a reason to call him."
"Thou art use to throwing around such words with one another. Tis an interesting display of friendship, this one will admit." Then again, she was pretty sure (from what she could remember of being eight and with her family) that biting was considered a no-no here where on Soshi Shima it was considered playful.
Aron took a moment to process her words before laughing, a genuine smile on his face. "Yeah. We definitely like to give each other shit and the name calling is just a bonus, but don't worry, Kaito is really a dependable guy, despite all my previous insults."
That made Rei feel a bit better about the other boy. So far, she could only tell that he was grumpy and irritated by having to be woken up for something like this. She almost felt bad for requesting Aron to contact him, having learned that he had not slept well previously. But it was too late to recant her request, the other lad was on his way.
"So, since he's going to be a while, since he probably was on the other side of town, I'll keep you company~! And don't worry, I'll keep my charm down to a minimum. Can't have a girl I just met swooning over me without me even trying to swoon her." Aron said with a bright sincere smile and a playful wink.
Rei could see he was truly a nice person, even if Kaito over the Den Den Mushi called him girl-crazy. He acted somewhat playful, like a draco before initiating a brawl of nipping and wrestling and roughhousing. Though she doubted that he would suddenly try to bowl her over like a draco, she could see that he was light-hearted and playful.
"Then this one shall do her best to keep thee good company as well. And she willst do her best to keep from swooning." Rei nodded in response, giving him a light smile.
"Oh, that makes me happy." Aron laughed, dramatically placing a hand over his heart. "It brings me happiness when a girl can tell when to play along instead of thinking I'm flirting constantly."
Rei didn't mention to Aron that she really wouldn't know what flirting looked like in the first place, having been surrounded by dragons who were straightforward in their affections. Or if they did flirt, she had never seen the older dragons do so in her presence.
"So, since it seems to be your first time at Water 7 and all, do you have any questions? I'd be happy to tell you anything that you might be curious about."
Rei perked at the offer. "There is something thou canst tell this one. She has been inquiring this for some time since her travels have caused her to lose track of such things..."
"Well, then, ask away! I'll do my best to answer." Aron encouraged her when she trailed off.
She chewed at her bottom lip as she thought of how to ask, but eventually decided it was best to ask outright. "What doth the date currently?"
"Oh, its the end of April. Summer's going to be hitting soon and its going to get a little on the hot side when it does. Water 7 is technically a Spring island, but that doesn't mean that our summers aren't warmer than our other season or that Winter isn't a little cooler. It just means it stays around the same temperature. No snow, no really hot summer days."
"Ah." Rei nodded, filing that information away in her mind for later. "But what doth the year and day? As this one has said, she hath not been able to keep track of the days and wishes to know what tis the full date today."
"Oh." Aron blinked, realizing that this girl had been really out of touch. Well, he shrugged to himself mentally, that explains why she looked and talked like she had fallen out of some other era. She very well might have. How cool would that be? "It's currently 24th of April, 1495 AOS. Does that help you more?"
"Verily." Rei nodded, already using her previous knowledge of when she had been born and what year it had been when she had been kidnapped. "That means that this one tis... 14 years of age now."
She had spent approximately the last 6 years living on Soshi Shima. It had been 6 years since she had last seen her family and about 6 years since she had met Gin and watched her die. Finally, she knew how long it had been and how old she was.
"You mean... you didn't know how old you were? What? Were you castaway on some island for some unknown amount of time?" Aron asked rather bluntly, only realizing his words after he had said them. Before he could apologize Rei looked him in the eye, stunning him with the lightheartedness in those rare, bright red eyes.
"Something akin to that." She did well to hid the sadness that brought about such a situation, but she did not regret those years. "This one had little access to modern things, so she twas not able to keep track of the days as they passed her until recently. Doth not fret, thou words did not offend her. Tis a strange question to ask of anybody, she will admit."
"Must have been some strange circumstances as well." Aron decided to put forth, glad that his words hadn't made her mad. Girls capable of taking care of themselves were scary when angry, if he was to learn anything from his time with the Mizu Mizu Tribe where all the girls were self-sufficient.
The two continued to chat, between when Aron was manning his shop and helping customers and when there was an obvious lull between interested shoppers. He quickly adapted to her manner of speech, still not calling her out on it since, well, he didn't want to steal away Kaito's job of being a jerk. Rei, after getting the date, was much more interested in Water 7 and Aron quickly started to explain the basics of the island, like Yagura Bulls, why there were water canals, and of course, about the shipyards. He explained that at the moment, there were still one or two that had not joined the rest, but there was already talk of a merge as a man named Iceburg worked to unite all the shipyards under one company. Galley-La was what Iceburg was thinking of naming the company once all the paperwork finally processed. Or at least, that's what the word on the street was.
"Thou speaks highly of this man called Iceburg. Tis he truly such a great man?" Rei was questioned, very interested in learning about the ins and outs of Water 7. It sounded like such an interesting place. Perhaps she would stay a long while if she could find a swordsmaster here...
"Well, he is the first apprentice of Tom-san and helped build our beloved Sea Train. It's only obvious that he'd amount to something great! He's an inspiration to orphans everywhere, since he didn't have a family growing up outside of his master either." Aron couldn't help but say, proud that someone so important came from humble beginnings like him.
"Tom-san?" Rei had no clue who he was suppose to be. "Sea Train." Okay, he honestly lost her on those two subjects. What in the world was a Sea Train?
Aron realized her ignorance and was about to answer before someone beat him to it. A voice from behind Rei, shocked both teenagers as its owner began to explain.
"Tom-san was a fishman from Fishman Island that settled here many years ago. He was an extremely skilled shipwright with strong convictions about what it meant to make a ship. During a time of economic despair, Tom-san, who was convicted of aiding and assisting Gold Roger by crafting the Pirate King's vessel, the Oro Jackson, proposed a solution to Water 7 economic issues. With the permission of the World Government, Tom-san build the Sea Train and the train tracks that float just underneath the ocean's water, allowing several nearby islands be connected through this unusual means of transportation as his penance for his crime. It took Tom-san 4 years, with the help of his two apprentices, Iceburg and Cutty Flam, to build the entire thing, more shipwrights lending their aid the closer they were to finishing. Tom-san was still tried and sentenced to death for his crimes of aiding Gold Roger afterwards, but his efforts brought Water 7 out of an economic depression. Now, his apprentice, Iceburg, is also leading Water 7 with his efforts into stronger economic times as well."
Rei whirled around when the speaker had started his long explanation, quite shocked at the young male probably barely older than her explain something so knowledgable. He was probably a little taller than her when she stood, black hair that was brought back into a short pony tail at the nape of his neck. He carried himself about in a relaxed manner, but Rei could easily tell that he was alert and on his toes, ready for anything to happen. His clothes, though nothing like her worn down clothes, were obviously hand-me-downs or second-hand. His left ear was pierced at the lobe and a few times on the cartilage. However, what caught her attention more than anything else was how blue his eyes were.
His eyes reminded her of Captain Mizushima's, but his were much more breath taking than she remembered the captain's ever being. More alive if she were to put words to it. If she were to stare at them further, she had no doubt that they probably looked as if they rippled like the ocean waves.
Now that he wasn't giving his long explanation of who Tom-san was, the blue-eyed teen was scarfing down food from a bento box he had been holding.
"Damn it Kaito," Aron whined. "I was getting to that."
"Sure. You. Were." Kaito said between bites, finishing the box up in a matter of a minute. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve as he tossed the empty disposable bento box into a trash can behind him. "Because you've always been good at history."
Rei blinked. This was Kaito? He was obviously younger than Aron, but he was the leader of the Mizu Mizu Tribe.
"And where did you get that bento? I swear if you stole that from one of the vendors on this street, I'll-"
"Relax." Kaito cut him off, waving off Aron's concern. "I bought the bento."
"With whose money?" Aron asked rather suspiciously.
Kaito gave him a rather wiry and dubious smirk as he gave his reply. "Zambai's."
"And you wonder why he's mad?" Rei was temporarily forgotten as the two talked about whatever had caused Kaito to lose out on sleep.
"No, I stole his wallet afterwards as consolation for having to deal with all that shit in the first place." Kaito explained rather grumpily before rubbing one of his temples his one of his hands. "Damn it, I need coffee. I'm too tired to deal with anything right now. I'm gonna kill Ratigan when I see the little dipwad for pissing of Zambai and all his friggin' moronic goons. There are about three really traumatized kids because of his stupidity."
"Ratigan again?" Aron sighed in irritation. "You better watch your back with that kid, Kaito, he's after your position, you know."
"I am well aware he's been envying my position as leader of the group since he was seven, but damn, he's been getting bolder and bolder the older he gets." Kaito complain.
"Probably because he's ten already and is worried at how much longer he would be able to hold onto the role of leader. He's no you, so he won't last till he's fourteen going on fifteen and he knows it." Aron pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah." Kaito huffed, "No need to keep reminding me of my impending resigning. It's bad enough that Ratigan pulls shit like this to remind me." He gave another irritated sigh before returning to the real reason he had been 'summoned'. He glanced Rei's way for a second before looking back at Aron and nudging his head her way. "So, this the new stray you were talking about?"
"Yup! Her name is Rei and she's fourteen. I know she a little on the older side, but I don't think she's planning to stay indefinitely, are you, Rei?" Aron directed the attention fully on her now and she did her best not to squirm at their full attention. For some reason, she felt out of place at the moment, perhaps because she had been outright ignored by the two only seconds ago.
"This one art uncertain how long she will stay on Water 7, but she doth believe twill be more than merely a few weeks. Would thou be willing to allow her to stay in thy tribe's sanctuary for the duration of her stay?" This was as good as place as any to get reintroduced to human culture, she supposed. She'd keep moving on if she didn't find a swordmaster to train her here once she felt like she could function within human culture more fluidly.
Kaito stared at her. Before, he gave her a few side glances and wasn't fully paying attention to what she looked like and this was definitely the first time he heard her speak, so now he was finally taking in her full form as if evaluating her. Rei stared at his azure colored eyes, watching him observe her and realized how calculative and observant he truly was. He might seem laid back, but that seemed to be a ruse now that she was watching him access her.
"Okay," Kaito looked back at Aron. "I give up. What old book did you accidentally conjure her up from? Or did she slip accidentally through some weird time rift and land centuries in the future?"
"Eh?" Rei's eyes widened at that comment. Why would he say something like that?! She looked down at her clothes, wondering if they were really that outdated. It wasn't her fault it was all she had!
"The last one was my original guess." Aron laughed, "But she seems familiar with our era, minus a few years or so."
"Okay, but what's up with the way she talks? She talks like those old theater scripts Darjaleen use to force us to listen to her practice all the damn time. You know, the scripts that had the 'thee's, 'thou's, 'thy's and other outdated words."
"Out...outdated!" Rei repeated in disbelief before realizing what he was saying. She nearly slapped her hand against her forehead when she realized what she had been doing. "No! This- er- I lived on an island for a while where the... people there... well they spoke like th- errr- me."
"Ah!" Kaito looked back at her with a look of mild surprise on his face. "So you do know how to talk normally. I was worried there for a minute that I was going to have to have someone who understood what the hell you were saying translate for all the little kids who wouldn't get it. But since you seem capable of actually talking like a normal person. No worries."
"H-HEY!" Rei didn't know if she should be insulted or not. She decided to be insulted. She stood up, only slightly smaller than him height wise and do what any normal drake or draco would do when dealing with one of their peers. Get into his face and challenge his dominance in their relations. Only this time, it seemed it would be a battle of wits than strength, since she highly doubted he was a match for her in that respect.
Her eyes clashed against his as they both held their ground as she spoke her retort. "This one was kind enough to ask thee for thy permission for sanctuary since this seems to be thy territory, but make no mistake, she will not be insulted for things that art not her fault. She speaks as she was taught to speak. Thou willst respect her in that manner and give her room to adapt to thy ways of speaking. Or doth this one have to show thee how the people whom raised her for the better of six years deal with disagreement?"
"I don't owe you a damn thing." His words surprised her. She had not been expecting him to actually say something like that. "It's dog-eat-dog world for kids like me and the other orphans who refuse to go to that damn place the adults here have the gall to call an orphanage. We fight for our survival and that means, you want respect, you earn respect. The way you talk isn't going to go over well and I'm not going to hold your hand and keep the other kids from bullying you for the archaic way you talk. That's something you have to deal with yourself."
Rei grudgingly admitted there was logic in his response, no matter how rudely he had said it. She wasn't the type that wanted others to hover and to 'hold her hand' as he had put it. She did things herself and dealt with her own issues. She would have to quickly adjust if she didn't want problems.
"Very well. This one sees thy point." She relented with a nod. "She will work on speaking more modernly. She has done so once before at some point during her time upon that island, she has no doubt she can do so again. Twill take time to adjust this time however, it has been a long time since then and she is very out of practice."
"Well then, this one will attempt keep his comments about it to a minimum." Kaito gave her a mischievous grin as he mimicked her speaking habits, his tired eyes dancing with humor.
Rei shot him a harsh glare before shoving him back, not bothering to be the one to physically concede to his dominance by backing away. He gave a surprised yelp as he was forced a few steps back, as he rubbed one of his shoulders that she had pushed upon.
"Ow. You know, you're stronger than you look. Are you sure you're a girl? I know men who hit softer than you." Kaito whined as Aron laughed at his misfortune.
The hazel haired boy laughed even harder when Kaito ended up being shoved into the canal for the gender comment. It was very obvious that Rei was a girl, despite her unexpected strength. Rei stomped one of her bare feet as she shouted 'bastard' at the already submerged teenaged leader of the Mizu Mizu Tribe before ranting irately in a language Aron had never heard before.
If Rei stuck around for a long while, Aron was certain that things on Water 7 were going to get a whole lot more interesting, especially for Kaito. Almost made him wish that he was still young enough to be a part of the Mizu Mizu Tribe just to watch the future confrontations between these two. And he had a feeling there was going to be a lot.
"Alright, so I will admit I may have been a bit more of a jerkface than normal." Kaito admitted to the girl marching behind him still rather livid at his comment about her gender. "I'm running on very limited sleep and I will apologize now if I don't remember to keep my filters up. Most of the kids are use to my sarcasm and comments."
"Thou art rude and a bully." Rei commented bluntly, her arms crossed as she tried to get over her aggravation.
Kaito spun around quickly at her comment to face her. "I will admit to being rude. But I would rather die than be called a bully. I am not a bully. And I don't think you know me well enough to make such an assumption as that."
His eyes burned with his indignation over being called a bully and Rei quickly realized she had stepped out of line with that comment, much like when he had basically called her a boy. "Then this one apologizes. She will refrain from calling thee names till she is certain. But she expects thee not to make such rude comments about her gender again."
"Fine. Deal." Kaito reached out his hand for her to shake. "Even though you do hit harder than a lot of men I know -full grown men at that- I will not question your gender again. In return, you don't call me such things as a bully."
"Unless thee art one, which this one is unsure at this time. She said she will not call thee names until certain."
"Fine, whatever, it works." Kaito irritably conceded to. "Now shake on it, will ya?"
Rei looked at his hand, recalling how her father had shaken upon things when she was little. She put her hand into his tentatively before gripping it strongly and giving it a firm shake and Kaito did the same.
"Good, now that that is settled, stop dawdling behind me and walk with me will you? You're making me on edge doing that." Kaito tugged the girl forward until she was beside him before letting go of her hand. "Number one rule about kids living on the streets, especially the older members of my group, is that they don't like people outside their line of vision. It puts us on edge, intentional or not."
"Un..." Rei nodded as she realized what he meant. He couldn't see her, but he knew she was there. It wasn't like where she could just spread out her qi and sense the things around her with perfect clarity. No, she was in his blind spot and it was making him tense out of habit. Dracos, due to their inability to use qi, would also get agitated when another draco was in their blind spots. It was unnerving because they didn't know if the other dragon pup would attack them when they were vulnerable, no matter how playful the intent was.
Rei tucked that bit of information away for the moment as she kept up with his fast pace. She was use to Tatsuo and Ayane's long strides and could easily keep up with someone with legs almost as long as hers.
"So, where art we headed, thou hath not yet told this one. However, Aron-san mentioned that we were to be stopping at a few locations before reaching thy tribe's base."
"I'm sorry, who the hell is Aron-san?" Kaito let out a snort at that thought. "Yeah, don't call him that. Especially in front of him. It'll just go to his head." Kaito flashed her a playful grin. "On the streets, we just call each other by name. No need for honorifics or titles, our level of society is not that formal." He watched as Rei studied him a bit before giving a reluctant nod. She had been raised to treat strangers with respect. Not including an honorific felt too familiar to the girl, but she knew that was how they functioned on the streets and she would have to adapt.
"As to where we are going," Kaito continued. "I'm taking you to another former street kid who use to be apart of the group until she was able to get a job at a salon and start supporting herself. She lives with about five other girls who were all living on the streets at one point."
"Why art we going to a salon?" Rei was more curious about that then the woman.
"Because you look like a girl." Kaito said bluntly. Rei had a hard time figuring out if the cryptic answer was meant to mean something or just be insulting. Seeing as his answer did not suffice, Kaito sighed, cursing under his breath about her curiosity. He didn't like explaining this part to any new stray girl.
"Not saying that you aren't a girl, and a nice looking girl at that, despite your outdated clothes and manner of speaking." Kaito winced when she slugged his arm angrily. "Ow." He glared at her only to receive see her returning glare. "What I mean is, out here on the streets, looking like a girl is not ideal." He rubbed his shoulder to soothe the pain. "Maaah, can you stop hitting me?"
"If thou wishes for this one to stop hitting thee, then stop giving her reasons to hit thee." Rei shot back. "Besides, this one hardly hit thee with much force."
Kaito decided he didn't want to know what 'much force' looked like to the foreign girl. The amount of force she had already used would probably leave a decent bruise upon his arm and wasn't one to bruise easily.
"So what doth thou mean by 'looking like a girl is not ideal'? This one is female, why should she pretend not to be?"
"Because its better to be a boy living on the streets than a girl." Kaito huffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets before getting grumpy again. "Look, I'm tired and I really don't want to get into this with you. You want to stay with us, you follow our rules. Rule one for girls is looking like boys. If you want someone to explain it, let Holly. I'm too tired."
"Very well, this one will allow Holly to further inform her about the reasoning behind thy 'rule number one for girls'." Rei decided to relent. Kaito's mood was going downhill again and it was obvious he rather be asleep than dealing with her, but, regardless of what he rather be doing, he was responsible and dutiful. Even if he was a jerk.
"Thank you..." Kaito murmured under his breath.
The two of them continued their walk in silence, Rei keeping up with Kaito and walking next to him while focusing more on the scenery than the route they were taking while Kaito was the opposite, more interested in their route than looking at the familiar settings he had grown up with. At times, Rei wanted to ask him questions, but his exhaustion was more and more apparent as they continued their short trek and it didn't help that he was still soaked from when she pushed him into the canal. She did not regret her actions, he had rightly deserved her wrath, but it didn't mean she liked people to be miserable, which being tired and wet was causing the slightly older kid to be.
It was almost a relief when they finally reached their destination and Kaito ushered her in through the front doors.
"Oi! Holly!" Kaito called as he entered the salon, waltzing right into the place though the sign said closed. Rei pondered why the door was left unlocked if they were not yet ready to open shop.
"Oh! Kaito-ko," A older looking strawberry-blonde woman in her mid-thirties came entering the room. "Look at you! You're all wet! And you look exhausted!"
"Yeah," Kaito grimaced, not even bothering to look at Rei who was the culprit. "I took an unexpected spill into the canal. That's what I get for running around and being half asleep, I guess."
"Oh Kaito-ko," the woman sighed, "Come here and let's get you all dried. I'll get Holly down here and she can help your guest." She looked at Rei with her brown eyes and smiled sweetly. "She's why you are here, right?"
"Well I'm not here to get my hair cut." Kaito grumbled, quickly running his hand through his wet hair till his fingertips touched the silver, decorative ponytail clasp at the nape of his neck that held his hair together. His hair was only long enough to properly be bound in a simple short ponytail, Rei realized.
The woman laughed at his reply, not at least offended by the young child. "Yes, yes, I know. The great and wonderful Kaito of the Mizu Mizu Tribe would never willingly cut his hair short. Isn't that a double-standard, since you make all the girls cut their hair shorter than yours?"
"No! I am a boy, so it doesn't matter if my hair is long or not, and it's not like its long enough to be grabbed or any sort of shit like that. And don't call me that. It's bad enough that all the kids like that silly name. Mizu Mizu Tribe... how uncool." Kaito groused irritably.
"Fine, fine. I guess it doesn't matter since you look like a boy as well, regardless of the length of your hair. And don't you dare change the name Kaito. It's been called the Mizu Mizu Tribe since long before I was a little girl, living on the streets. Only our leader wasn't as smart as you. Dependable, but not smart." She relented with another laugh. "Now, both of you, come in and quit standing at the door." Once the two of them came in further, the woman opened the back door from where she had come from and hollered out for Holly.
It was only a matter of a few seconds latter when a young girl, no older than 17 came bouncing through the door in the back of the shop. She had long ash blonde hair tied into braids on each side of her head and honest, light brown eyes. The dress she wore was simple, but an effeminate color.
"Yes, Merryweather-san?" It was then she caught notice of Kaito and Rei and let out a laugh of her own at Kaito's soaked form. "What happened to you? Get pushed into the canal?"
"No, I slipped while running." Kaito corrected rather irritably.
She laughed again. "Yeah right! If it was anyone but you, Kaito, I might believe that, but with you, you only fall into the water when you're pushed." She let out a mischievous, playful smile, "Don't tell me this pretty little thing pushed you in."
"Little to you, she may be, but don't let her size and looks fool you, she hits hard." Kaito gave up even trying to convince the younger woman of anything. She knew him too well.
"Sure, sure." Holly agreed insincerely, not truly believing someone Rei's age and size could really be so strong. "Now, let me guess, give her the usual?"
"Yes please." Kaito nodded, remembering to use his manners since the two women were technically doing him a favor.
"No problem!" Holly beamed. She motioned Rei towards a salon chair as she started to get her needed items. "Go sit at that chair and we'll get started, kay?"
Rei nodded, slowly walking over to the chair without a word. She would ask her questions before allowing the woman to cut any of her hair.
"Good, now that that's taken care of," Merryweather began, casting her eyes to Kaito, "Let's go get you taken care of, Kaito-ko. I have a clothes dryer and a few spare articles of clothes that might fit you for the time being."
"Great, as long as nothing you try to force me into has lace, flowers, or smells girly." Kaito walked towards the strawberry-blonde following her into the back.
"How about pink?"
"That too, lady. And don't think I'm not going to be watching out for that. I know your tricks, Merryweather-san!"
There was a peel of laughter as Merryweather and Kaito were almost through the back door. "Yes, yes. No pink, no matter how cute you'd look."
"I ain't cute. Girls are cute. I'm a boy. Thus, I'm dashing." The tone of his voice was playful as he spoke the last few words, insinuating he wasn't trying to be serious at all about the subject.
More cheerful laughter erupted from Merryweather, even Rei couldn't withhold a smile. Kaito was pretty funny when he wanted to be. "If you say so, Kaito-ko."
"Yeah, I do say so."
With that, the two of them were in the back and only she and Holly were left in the main part of the salon. Rei suddenly wasn't sure what to do when the other girl approached her and began to run her fingers through her hair.
"Such pretty hair and its in good condition," Holly informed her, now playing with the ends as if looking for something. "A little bit of split ends, but nothing too horrible."
"Doth that truly matter if thou art to cut it all off?" Rei asked, still unsure why she was even sitting there.
Holly blinked as she silently stared at the younger girl before giving out a light giggle. "Oh my! You speak like Darjaleen when reciting! I bet Kaito gave you some trouble about that, didn't he?"
"Yes," Rei said, still rather bothered by that. "This one only speaks as she was taught to speak."
"Well, you'll learn pretty quick how to talk like the rest of the kids, don't you worry. As for your question, yes, it does matter. We use long hair like this that we cut off to make wigs. Basically, we pay you money for the hair, which then you spend on basic necessities, such as street worthy clothes and toiletries. Maybe even a meal or two, depending." Holly explained as she began to brush Rei's hair, working out the few snarls that had accumulated since Rei last brushed it.
"But why tis it a rule that girls upon the street must follow?" That was what Rei wanted to know. She would rather keep her hair long unless there was a legitimate reason.
"My, Kaito didn't really do a good job at explaining this to you, did he? Girls usually come in here knowing full well why they need to get their hair cut. Some girls are even crying when Kaito leads them in." Holly said before giving a shrug. "Oh well, doesn't really matter I suppose. He looked exhausted, so he probably skipped details to spare himself the headache. I don't blame him, he works entirely too hard for a kid that's as brilliant as he is. He should be going to the academy and learning a respectable trade, not running around babysitting a bunch of wild, parentless children with huge trust issues. Not that I'm complaining, since I use to be one of those children, but still, it's a big responsibility." She rambled for a moment before catching herself and clearing her throat. "Well, anyway, girls are expected to cut their hair short because it makes it easier for them to live on the street. I wish it wasn't so, but girls are targeted more than boys on the streets, especially girls with no parents, no home, and no one looking after them. There are some pretty sick bastards out there and you never know who might be one, sad to say. Not only that, but long hair makes it easier for people to grab onto. I can't tell you how many times I've seen girls get caught by their hair before Kaito became leader and made it a rule that we had to dress like boys, including short, boy-cut hair."
At that point, Holly was already putting her hair into a loose ponytail and tugging the hair band down a bit. "Alrighty. Are you ready?"
Rei frowned, looking at herself in the mirror before her. She liked her hair long, it reminded her of how the dragons kept their manes long and well groomed, but after hearing Holly's explanation, she understood it was for her survival that she needed it cut. Rei was barely able to repress a shiver when she thought of what the girl had meant by 'sick bastards', having a very close run in with one on that Navy ship and mentally agreeing that one could never really tell. Rei stared a bit longer, reminding herself that there was even a time when dragons purged themselves of their scales and cut their manes and she supposed that this was that time for her. She could always regrow it later when she wasn't living on the streets and it wasn't the end of the world. Plus, its not like she had never had short hair before. Gin had cut her hair quite short and it grew to be this long.
Rei swallowed thickly and nodded, closing her eyes as she heard the snipping of scissors right behind her head and the sudden loss of weight removed from her head.
"There, the worst of it is over." Holly encouraged her. "Now, let's wash your hair and style it a bit better. I have just the haircut for you. I saw it on a foreign man as he passed through here just a while ago. He had the most amazing eyes I have ever seen, I am telling you! They were so intense and sharp, like a bird's would be, and his coloring? Canary yellow. I think how his hair was cut would look amazing with your features! Of course, I'd make it work more with your face structure, so a little tweaking, but pretty much the same~!"
Rei quickly realized Holly was talkative and allowed the older girl to talk, listening to how she spoke and what she spoke of. The older teen led her to the sink with a chair in front of it and washed her hair, all the while talking about different subjects, like how she too use to be a part of the Mizu Mizu Tribe before Kaito found her a job here, and the others she knew who use to be a part of the tribe of orphaned kids and what they were doing now.
"Aron was always whittling, so no surprise when he agreed to the be a mask maker, Darjaleen is currently working backstage in the city's theater but they are actually letting her audition this time around for an actual part that pays, and then there's Paulie, he's pretty much the epitome of success at this point for all homeless kids, other than Iceburg-san himself, since he came from the Mizu Mizu Tribe and he is one of Iceburg's chosen apprentices!" She was drying Rei's hair at that point, readying to take the girl back to the chair to cut her hair.
"Yet he's an idiot who has a horrible gambling habit and is more in debt than when he was living on the streets. He's just lucky Iceburg-san thinks he's a damn good shipwright." Kaito interrupted as he came back into the room.
Merryweather did keep her promise and he was wearing something dry, non-filly, lacy, or pink, but it was obvious Kaito wasn't happy. It wasn't girly, but not something he would be wearing if his clothes weren't being dried at the moment. Rei tried not to smile at the boy wearing the bright yellow shirt and white shorts.
"Wearing my clothes, hmm?" Holly seemed too amused as Kaito walked about the room.
"Is it sad that I can fit your clothes? Must say something about your weight if I'm able to force my waistline into it." He dodged the wooden comb she threw his way without even looking. His eyes on his current goal.
"I am not fat!" Holly stomped her foot. "You are just too damn skinny. And stay away from the fridge, Kaito! That's for us employees to put our lunch in!"
"And now your lunch is mine. It seems you forget this every time I visit." Kaito responded as he opened up the mini-refrigerator and pulled out the box with Holly's name.
"Kaito, don't you dare! I work hard for the money I get to pay for things like that!" Kaito ignored her with a mischievous smirk as he opened up her double-tiered bento box.
"Ooo! Cake! No wonder I can fit into your clothes." Kaito easily outmaneuvered Holly as she stormed up to him, trying to take back her lunch. He had already managed to procure chopsticks, from where, Rei was not sure, and dug in to the other girl's lunch, but she watched in mild confusion as Holly vainly fought to reclaim her lunch, finally giving up after Kaito had managed to eat half of the first tier.
"Damn it Kaito!" She looked upset.
"You have money to buy yourself more. And if not, you have the ability to make more money." Kaito told her before getting out of her range. "And you're not fat, I can barely fit into these damn pants. I'm just lucky I'm small and haven't hit my growth spurt."
"Really?" Holly wasn't as upset about the food as the fat comment.
"No, I'm lying." Kaito snapped sarcastically, "Damn it Holly, don't pick a fight if you're not willing to take a hit. You know this." Kaito grumbled, handing back the first tier of the bento box that still had the cake intact. "And damn, why'd you buy such expensive cake?"
"To support Ally, dumbass, she works there and their cakes are amazing." Holly swiftly took back her lunch, or at least the part Kaito had willing given back (he was working on the next tier just as hungrily as he had the first) and put it back in the fridge.
"Oh yeah, little Ally-cat got a job at that pastry shop. I should visit her." Kaito recalled aloud as Holly went back to Rei and began to cut and clip her hair. Rei was still too engrossed with how the two of them interacted that she kept quiet the whole time. This was all too foreign to her.
"Unless you have money, don't bother." Holly informed him sternly. "They only agreed to hiring Ally if any and all street children under your supervision stayed away from their shop, remember?"
"Why'd you get to go in then?" Kaito couldn't help but complain as he sat upon the couch in the salon meant for waiting customers, still eating Holly's food.
"I'm not a part of the Mizu Mizu Tribe anymore and have a paying job and buy their products. That's why." Holly turned her head to stick her tongue out at Kaito.
"Ah. Well good thing they don't care if your childish or not, or you'd never be let in with those manners." Kaito quipped back at Holly.
"Shut up and eat my lunch!" Holly barked at him before fully focusing on Rei's hair.
"With pleasure," Kaito said, pleased over winning their verbal scuffle.
For a time, the only sounds to be heard were Kaito's chopsticks clicking as he quickly finished up the last of Holly's lunch and the snipping to scissors as Holly focused on Rei's haircut. Soon the clicking stopped and Holly pulled away for a second to check on the blue eyed boy.
"Hmph, he only falls asleep after eating my entire lunch." Holly spoke lowly, tsking lightly as she returned to Rei. "I hope that didn't affect your perception of Kaito. He's honestly a good guy, just a bit of a bastard, but I think that's just because he's tired, stressed, and hungry all the damn time. I think he'd be much more amiable if he wasn't the leader and allowed himself to get a job or be adopted."
"He tis difficult to understand. Many seem to rely upon him and yet he speaks as he pleases and takes what he wishes without considering anyone else. My people doth not take what does not belong to them and they doth not belittle others for no reason." Rei spoke honestly about her concerns. "How can a person such as he be relied upon and respected when he does such things?"
Holly paused, chewing on her lip as she thought about what the girl said. "Well, I don't know what it was like living where you grew up, but here, especially on the streets, one does what one must to survive. Kaito takes what he needs to survive, as does any child living on the streets, and he speaks the way he does because he's smart and knows how to get what he wants through words. Even when he's being mean to us older kids, 'cause he never speaks that way to the little kids, he really cares for all of our welfare. He merely gets annoyed a bit more at us since we're older and should be more 'sensible than the five year olds' or at least know when he's merely teasing, being a complete snark, or being insincere."
"Like his fat comment?" Rei asked, making sure she clearly understood what she had witnessed.
"Kaito doesn't think its funny that he has to wear my clothes. It makes him look too effeminate for his tastes and he's pretty vain at times." Holly admitted with a giggle. "So that one was my fault. You don't start something you're not willing to finish, especially when taunting a street kid. And on top of being a street kid, Kaito's cranky because he's tired. He only said I'm fat because he knows I'm sensitive about it. An eye for an eye, you could say."
Rei nodded, she felt like she was beginning to understand. Kaito was the Alpha of these children, but unlike dragons who would not dare to defy their Alpha, Kaito dealt with children trying to usurp him, if his conversation with Aron was to mean anything, and needed to throw his weight around not solely by physical strength and abilities, but by mental strength and prowess with words and taunts. Here one had to talk tough as well as be tough to back up that talk. Any sign of weakness could get one in a lot of trouble, especially for him, the Alpha.
Dragons normally skipped the talking and went straight to the heart of the situation, strength and prowess. The more talented dragon would be the victor, there was no insults thrown, no talking down at the other dragon, and definitely no gloating. When two dragons disagreed and polite debate did not sway the other's mind, they fought. The winner was correct and the loser conceded to this. Sometimes if the other dragon still did not fully concede, depending on the subject of which they fought, the other killed or punished the loser. End of story.
"Art thou not mad about him eating thy food thou?" Rei couldn't help but ask that as well. Sharing food was considered an honor if one was not family. Otherwise, dragons did not share their food. At all. Rei was lucky that, given the circumstances, Tatsuo and Ayane shared even a scrap of their food with her.
"Hmm? Well, yes, I'm a little mad, but he didn't eat the cake, so I'm not too mad." Holly shrugged, setting down the scissors and playing with Rei's slightly damp hair. "Kaito eats a lot. With his metabolism and how much he works, he is constantly hungry and tries balancing taking care of children and making sure there's enough for them as well as for his appetite. Most of the time, it's everyone for themselves, but everyone is provided at least meager breakfast and a humble dinner. Kaito has always needed three times what the rest of us needed, but he does spend most of his days running around and monitoring everything while trying to survive as well. We're just fortunate he's good at taking care of himself onto of everything else. So if he needs a little help by eating my lunch, than I'm all too happy to let him, after fussing a little about it."
Rei didn't say anything after that, internalizing all that she had learned. The streets children's culture were definitely not like the Dragon's culture at all, where all the dracos were carefully monitored and raised by their adult counterparts with love and discipline. These children watched over themselves and yet owed nothing to one another at the same time. The only person they seemed to listen or respect was Kaito and he was almost more like a Shepherd than a Alpha with how he had to watch and guard his herd from the dangers while still allowing them free range. Those who had left his care were given into the care of another so they could be reared to be successful, like their predecessors, but the children didn't seem to trust adults, not until they eventually became outcasted for being one themselves. The Mizu Mizu Tribe was an endless cycle of orphan children with young Alphas forced to grow up and become responsible way before their time, less their herd be injured or, worse, killed.
Perhaps Kaito was more than just a cocky, mouthy bully. He had a large, ever growing burden upon his shoulders despite being so young and it would only be removed when the children no longer saw him as someone they were willing to place their trust in, which, according to what she remembered Aron mentioning in his conversation with Kaito, was coming.
It was then that Rei decided to give Kaito a real chance and not let his verbal barbs bother her. It was just like playing with a draco, only instead of brawling and roughhousing, it was a verbal battle. She could do that. Maybe. He was probably going to end up being shoved in the canal a few more times before she really managed to get the hang of using her words over her fists, but hey, he was the leader of a bunch of kids, he needed to be tough anyways.
"There we go! All done! You have a few fringes that don't want to slick back, but it works. Not exactly like that man's hair, but close enough I'd say without applying any sort of gel to your hair!" Holly beamed as she finished styling Rei's hair. "Now what do you think?"
Rei finally paid attention to her reflection, really startled by the transformation. She looked like a young boy. Albeit, one wearing a skirt, but a boy no less. But what really startled her were how intense her eye coloring was. She had not truly seen a decent reflection of herself in a long time, not since Toshi had made that mirror when she was merely eight. She had learned how to make such things with ice, but beyond grooming her hair in the reflection of the stream, Rei had never cared much for staring at her reflection. As long as she was well groomed, it mattered little what she looked like. But now with her long bangs cut and shaped to stay out of her eyes, she could truly see how red they had become after eating that Atae Fruit.
"I really think that this hair style suits you! It really draws out your eyes, like that fellow's I saw." Holly gushed. "Of course..." She drawled as she though about the idea a bit more, "I guess that's not something you necessarily want when running around on the streets, but I know what we can do to fix the issue." She waved off her concern as she shook Rei's shoulder and pulled her from her stupor. "Come on, you and I are going shopping. I know where Kaito goes to get everyone clothes and it'll do him good to catch up on some sleep while his clothes are drying and the salon doesn't open for another two hours. Plus, if Kaito goes with you, you won't get to do any shopping for something you might like! He just throws a few clothes your size your way (and don't ask me how he figures it out without even having to ask) and says 'congrates, these are now yours' and you're done. Boring~! Let dear Holly take you shopping, kay~?"
Rei nodded, following the young girl out, her backpack returned to her back and the pelt with her swords slung over her shoulder once more. She had temporarily set them by the chair and Holly had been good enough not to touch or mention them at all. Perhaps the older girl was well aware that inquiring about a parentless child's belongings to be a taboo, because she never once made mention of Rei's jewelry either, though Rei had noticed her staring every once in a while.
With one last look, Rei cast her gaze at the mirror, catching her own gaze reflecting from within. Swift Rei... The timid child who was afraid of much, stuttered over her words nervously, and was just a helpless, tiny thing, had grown into this. She no longer stuttered over any of her words and spoke clearly her intentions. She wasn't that small anymore and she knew that under her clothes were bronze, sun-kissed skin and sleek, toned muscles from her daily activities. She was no longer timid or frightened of much, though she was humble enough to admit there were still things out there that made her nervous and unsettled.
Yes. Gone was the child from Fireworks Island. Gone was Swift Rei. Here in her stead stood Rei of Soshi Shima. A young Drake in search of her place within the realm of humans and answers to questions she had yet been given. Fleetingly, as she turned and joined Holly to go to the clothing store, she wondered what Water 7 teach her and what trials upon this island would shape her into becoming.
However, as she had learned on Soshi Shima- one trial at a time. Her next trail was surviving her shopping excursion with Holly. She just wasn't aware of it yet.
A/N: The third arc has begun! As you may have decipher, Rei has to learn to readapt to human society as well learn to survive on the streets. In the beginning of my writing, I originally had Rei easily integrate back into human society. Thankfully, Volleys-chan pointed out that a child such as Rei, would have to relearn human culture as well as apply her understanding of Dragon culture to figure out the differences and mix and match the two cultures together within her own nature. Now to address one of the OCs that have been introduced.
Kaito wasn't originally in the first draft and had barely been added to the second draft of the story when beginning to plot the story out as a whole. In fact, the role he has now, in the long run, is nothing like we had originally created him for. He had been merely someone to push Rei to new levels and be her friend until she began traveling, and he became a lot more. He's sorta Volleys-chan's baby, having designed him for the intention of being everything Rei was not. But, as mentioned, Kaito did not make the third draft as anything less than a pivotal character within the story. He's only a year or so older than Rei and is sorta a brat, but as children do, he grows up to be an adult - a good one at that, though he never fully stops being cranky. Also, the other OCs in this chapter are not main characters within the story, though they show back up from time to time or are mentioned, but Kaito is around to stay. As for Rei's haircut, can anyone guess who Holly might have seen that inspired such gushing words and innocent tribute? ;)
See you in the next chapter.