Chapter 6:
Hours before a piping hot coffee was thrown at him… Greed was not having a fun time as one moment he was sitting on Sam's couch in a dead world, and the next he not only ended up outside somehow… but felt like he had been dropped from a high place and landed hard on the cold pavement below. Sure his healing would kick in for any injury he got, but the soreness would linger long enough to feel uncomfortable.
Did… did the orb transport us outside? Ling questioned from within their shared mind.
"What the hell happened?!" While Sam shouted in surprise outside their mind.
Violet-red eyes glancing over, Greed took note that the pierced woman looked as if she had tripped face first onto the pavement as she was holding herself up by her forearms. Not too far away from her, Flippy seemed to be on his back, wincing slightly as he shifted to sit up. Meanwhile Deidara, who was originally sitting right next to Greed, seemed to have landed not too far from him at an angle… but also seemed to have the cat Cheshire standing atop the blonde's side with all his black fur poofed up in surprise.
"Teleportation… maybe, hm?" Deidara grunted, a hand pushing for the cat to get off him as the blonde shifted slowly into a seated position. Greed took note of how the blonde's face scrunched up a bit, probably from the pain of however high they fell.
"Uh… I think it might have been more than that…" The soldier spoke up, catching everyone's attention as they all saw the green haired man point at something… only for Greed to finally take notice that they had landed in an alleyway… and the living breathing people walking about and going through their daily lives outside of the quiet alley.
… Greed, let me check something really quick.
Dragon Pulse thing?
Feeling the mental projection of Ling's nod, Greed took a step back and let the prince do his thing.
Compared to Sam's world, Ling could definitely feel the life flowing through everything here. However… now that he was taking a closer look at the qi of this world and comparing it to what he knows along with his companions… the xingese prince was noticing the small differences that made their companions read more as out of place, as well as how this world was clearly not his own either.
The general feel of this world's qi was similar to Amestris in how little of a natural feel there was, indicating to Ling that there wasn't a lot of Nature within this part of the world. The qi of the people varied much like their lives however there was… something indescribable mixed in. An almost mystical feeling that didn't feel as oppressive as a homunculus's agonizing aura… the closest thing he could liken the feeling of this force was like that of an Alkahestry or Alchemist's qi when performing their respective science. Free flowing and mixing the Dragon's pulse itself to shape it however they wished. Yet… This felt much more internal and compressed. As if there were some people here who somehow were their own respective Dragon's Pulse… if that made any sense.
Compared to this world and Sam's own world, Ling couldn't help but look deeper into his companion's qi as well.
Deidara's qi was more volatile, it fluctuated with his mood and almost felt like it could explode at any second… though it definitely read a bit more like someone from Xing with an earthy undertone to the destructive feel. The strange quality to his qi was the weird feeling of the bomber's energy trying to connect with the world's Dragon Pulse… but being rejected due to the difference in qi. Perhaps in Deidara's world it was easy for one to tap into the Dragon Pulse, or the Dragon Pulse would respond to a resident's qi without being an alchemist? Ling didn't know and wouldn't unless he actually went to the bomber's home world.
Sam's qi was rather normal, nearly blending in with the other qi of the world… But there was a more muted quality to it as if it was drowning in the life that now surrounded it and nearly being swept away. Quiet, trying to blend in yet the world around her was much too loud compared to what it was used to… and considering the world she came from was dead it made sense to Ling that her signature would reflect that. There, where even the faintest sign of life was like a beacon, one's qi didn't have to be loud or stand out to be noticed. Though that also meant that if they all got separated… Sam would be the hardest one of them to find.
Flippy's was… interesting. The Xingese Prince could easily say that he's never felt someone's life force feel so… shattered. So cracked that it almost felt like literal glass shards were poking out in some areas, yet it was held together by the smaller parts that remained smooth and whole… but only barely. It was hard to get a proper read on anything as the broken shards of the qi seemed to shift wildly, unpredictably yet… it almost seemed dormant? Ling honestly had no idea what any of it meant yet… It worried the Prince all the same.
Finally the cat's qi was… It was… Flickering. Like the shadow of a flame. The Qi signature was there, and yet it was not. It was present and noticeable, yet at the same time it seemed to disappear when Ling wasn't paying attention to it. Cheshire's qi was not like a normal animal's at all, yet it wasn't like a homunculus's qi… the fact it could easily disappear from his senses left Ling feeling uneasy with the small creature. Along with Sam… they would have to keep an eye on Cheshire if the group didn't want to lose the little feline.
So whatcha feeling Ling?
Ling let out a sigh, his concentration broken but having gotten what he was checking out. So, Ling decided to speak his findings out loud.
"Well, this world clearly isn't any of ours." The Prince started, now feeling the eyes of the others on him. "But this has also given me some insight on how to tell when we are in someone's home world."
"Really? How so Greed?" Flippy's voice asked, and the Prince could only put on a big smile as he spun around.
"Nope! Wrong name~!" Ling chimed, taking in the soldier's surprised expression that quickly turned to embarrassment.
"Ah! Um s… sorry Uh…" The green haired man began wringing his hands together as he stammered. For someone who was in the Military, both Greed and Ling found it interesting how easily the man could get flustered over the slightest of things. However that wasn't the important part right now.
"So! Whatcha going to pay up this time?"
Around the second day in the apartment, after the horrible music disk incident, Greed and Ling had set up a "Wrong Name" jar after the third time both Sam and Flippy had messed up who was in control of their shared body. Since money was basically useless in the dead world, they accepted offers of treats or whatever was on hand. Flippy so far had the most losses, Sam took to calling them Greedling… which Greed insisted counted as a Wrong Name and thus was right behind the soldier…. Though surprisingly enough Deidara hasn't gotten them mixed up… yet.
"Uh… How about an IOU? I um… I don't even seem to have my bag…"
"... OH GOD MY SHIT WAS LEFT BEHIND!" Greed had practically thrown Ling to the side and assumed control of their shared body as he was immediately reminded that most of his loot was left in the room he picked out back in Sam's world. Which they were no longer in.
RUDE!
"Seriously, hm?" Deidara's voice popped up and without even having to glance over to the blonde, Greed could practically tell the ninja was giving him an unamused stare. "The food, matches and clothes I can understand, hm. But the Knife when you have your shield trick, hm?"
"Look." Greed started, turning towards the blonde. "I'm Greed. That means I want everything life has to offer, but I also know that you sometimes have to give up shit to get better shit alright. I had a plan to exchange some of that for money when we left that world."
Even though you were convinced the first world we would travel to would be home. So you wouldn't need to trade your "Other World souvenirs" except for emergencies. Ling pointed out, still pouting over being thrown.
Hey, at least I had a back up plan for them!
"... I see your point, hm." Greed blinked and watched as Deidara took on a contemplative look, possibly to think more on a plan. The ninja's visible blue eye glancing around the area while still thinking… and pausing on Sam's form, which caused Greed to turn his own attention to the woman as well… only to notice the dyed haired woman was quietly tearing up at the sight beyond the alley they were in.
Oh… Right… Ling muttered inside the soul space, a pitying look on the Prince's projected face as both he and Greed watched as Flippy seemed to gently pat her back in comfort. Hell both were in agreement on that pity… after all before them, Sam was alone for a long time…
Think she's mourning her world right now? Greed questioned, still not 100% understanding some human's feelings… A vague memory of Ed's armored brother making the old Greed think Ed was dead came to mind as he watched the woman wipe at her face.
Dunno… could be that, but it could also be joy at seeing life again… maybe both.
Greed could only hum at that. Shit was complicated, and Greed definitely wasn't the type to dwell on complicated feelings. Those usually get bottled up and thrown to the wayside, hopefully never seen again.
A quick glance over to Deidara found that the blond… looked just as lost as to what to do. A conversation popped up in Greed's mind that they had together about their respective worlds, mostly the differences in culture between them… and how in Deidara's world crying was a sign of weakness, something to exploit for ninja and was usually only done alone or in private. Yet clearly exploiting Sam's emotions was the furthest thing from the ninja's mind at the moment with how his visible blue eye stared at their companions.
Guess it's a good thing Flippy knows what to do.
Greed could only quietly agree as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants… and then a cold sinking feeling that something was missing began cropping up just as a loud, attention demanding meow resounded from behind the homunculus.
There, near a surprisingly clean dumpster, Cheshire sat with one of his front paws resting on the metallic sphere that transported them from one world to the next… and it was then Greed just realized that he must have dropped the orb when they… fell? Transported? Whichever one described how they got here best to be honest, Greed didn't know or care.
"Good eye furrball." Greed grinned, despite the annoyed hiss he got from the red eyed cat.
It wasn't too long after picking the orb up again that Sam's tears finally stopped and the entire group gathered around to take stock of what happened, what they all still had… and try to figure out just where the hell they were now.
When taking stock of what they did have… it was concerning as the only bags they had were Deidara's side pouches filled with his pre-prepped exploding clay and minimal supplies, while Sam had a deck of cards, her fingerless gloves and a Swiss Army knife in the pockets of her coat that she had tied around her waist and Flippy seemed to also have a knife of his own that he kept in his jacket. Obviously they also had the orb, which in itself was a huge relief… but it also seemed to set Sam on edge that her camera that she had in her hands seemed to have been left behind… but aside from what they had on them they had nothing else.
"Well, at least we're in a much safer place now then we were before!" Flippy had smiled, attempting to point out the positives before seeming to realize how it would come out and turned to Sam. "Not… not that your apartment wasn't safe or anything."
"No worries. I get it." The dyed haired woman sighed with a wave of her bandage wrapped arm. "But we're definitely going to have to figure out where exactly we are…"
"If any of us can recognize where we are first, hm." Deidara pointed out.
"AND! Get some more supplies!" Ling pipped up, an almost tired look crossing his face. "While those food pill things you gave Greed and I worked out for the short term… I'm pretty sure they wouldn't work out for the long term with all of us. Plus the energy crash was not fun to deal with…"
"You recovered fast from it though, hm."
"It still wasn't fun!"
Once the conversations were finished, the group got to their feet, with Flippy also picking Cheshire up so they wouldn't lose the little fluff ball, and left the alley way. It only took Sam and Flippy listening to a couple conversations around them to come up with a suggestion that they might be in England due to the accents everyone had.
Well that's another unfamiliar place to add to our growing list… Ling had sighed. Internally while Greed noted the blank expression on Deidara's own face as Sam and Flippy seemed to get into a discussion about money conversion and something about dollars and pounds.
"Money different in your world, Dei?"
"We have only one type of currency called Ryo, hm…" the ninja sighed and crossed his arms. Deidara's face soon scrunched up and in a low tone muttered. "Almost wishing I paid attention to some of Kakuzu's money rants during meetings now, hm. Would probably understand some of this shit better then…"
Greed lit up a bit. As a literal incarnation of Greed the homunculus has always been good with money and keeping track of certain aspects involving it. Sure he may not know this world's currency, or the different currencies of whatever countries this world had but it can't be all that different from figuring out Cenz conversion rates. A boring topic compared to what Greed would usually share, but if it had the blonde bomber hanging off his every word then who was he to deny that sight.
Unfortunately before Greed could even start his offer to share said knowledge, Sam had chosen then to come over and talk to the two of them.
"Soo quick question. Either of you know how to pick pockets?" The woman whispered, her caramel colored eyes quietly dancing to some of this world's residence passing by on the streets. A quick glance towards the soldier of their group showed that Flippy was frowning and, while clearly not hearing Sam's words… knew exactly what she was asking them and did not approve.
"... What kind of ninja do you take me for, yeah?" Deidara questioned with his brow furrowed, arms crossed but eyes briefly scanning some of the people passing by.
"I know a thing or two about sleight of hand to pull it off." Ling laughed, jumping at the chance to answer before Greed in their shared body.
"And I got a little over a decade of practice myself." Greed grinned, holding his head up in pride and ignoring the surprised look that crossed Sam's face for a moment.
"... Right. Demon stuff. Keep forgetting that, that would make you old as shit." The pierced woman muttered before promptly ignoring the indignant shout from Greed, the unheard laughter of Ling and the snort of amusement from Deidara. Her body turned towards the green haired soldier and a grin spread across her face."Well looks like it's 4 to 1 Flips. We're going with my idea!"
"They didn't actually agree to anything yet, Sam." The soldier sighed, though a tired look was clear on his scared face as one of his hands absentmindedly scratched behind one of Cheshire's ears. The cat purring up a storm within the soldier's hold.
Needless to say, the boys, sans Flippy and Cheshire, did in fact go with Sam's pickpocketing idea to acquire the funds needed for supplies. While still disapproving of the method, Flippy at least made sure to not draw attention to the others, nor call them out to any authority… though the soldier still had a look of tired disappointment the whole time they swiped money from unsuspecting people. Flippy also took the time to get the information on where exactly they were… sometimes as an unintentional distraction for the others to steal from the person giving the information. Regardless, Flippy still managed to nail their exact location being in Surrey England, as well as getting some directions to a local cafe the group could get some fresh food and drink from, along with some different recommended stores for other supplies.
As Flippy and Sam were the only ones in their group who could read English, it was decided that the two of them would go in and order while Deidara and Greed would wait outside with Cheshire… who really would only let Flippy or Sam hold him but seemed content with sitting on the ground closer to Deidara… and hissing whenever Greedling got to close to him.
"You know, most animals usually warm up to me by this point…" Greed sighed, as the small black cat once again hissed at the homunculus's very presence.
"Eh, Cheshire probably just doesn't like you." Sam offered with a shrug, while Flippy counted the amount of pounds they had collected to figure out a good amount to take in with them. "Anyways, you guys coffee or tea drinkers?"
Greed, tell her we're having tea.
Hell no, I want a proper cup of joe brat.
Hell no! Coffee's way too bitter and gross!
Yeah? Well tea is just hot leaf water! There's barely anything to it!
BECAUSE YOU BREW IT WRONG EVERY TIME YOU DUMBASS HOMUNCULUS!
"Tea for me, hm. Matcha preferably if they have it, otherwise I'm not that picky on flavor, yeah." Deidara responded, unaware he just interrupted an internal argument.
"Gotcha. Anything for you guys or you good with a cup of water?" Sam pointed to Greed with an expecting look in her eyes. Greed could only frown before sighing out his answer.
"... You know what. Surprise us." The homunculus shrugged, ignoring the internal groan from the prince. "I trust you enough to make the right choice."
"Dealers Choice eh, alright cool." The dyed haired woman nodded to herself, a smile crossing her face as she turned towards the cafe's entrance. "Alright! Let's go get our orders in Flippy!"
"We'll be back soon, so uh… please don't destroy anything or kill anyone while we're gone." Flippy added, yellow eyes practically pleading with the teens.
"Well that ruins my plans for the day, yeah." Deidara smirked and Greed couldn't help but laugh at the genuine concern that crossed the soldier's face at Deidara's joke. "I'll keep it to self defense only, so stop worrying, hm."
"… I'll take your word for it then." Flippy sighed and turned, following after Sam who was snickering at their whole interaction.
Greed watched as the faded dye haired woman went into the Cafe with the green haired soldier. When something seemed to come to mind for Ling.
Wait… they never asked us for our food orders!
"Ah shit."
"Hm?" Deidara gave a questioning look towards Greed, making the homunculus sigh in return.
"Ling just pointed out that Sam and Flips didn't ask what kind of food we'd like."
"... God damn it, hm." The ninja sighed in agitation, one hand rising to rub at one of the temples on his forehead. "... They have to be grabbing something to eat at least, hm. We were talking about food earlier… though from my experiences, not all Cafes have the same food options, yeah."
"Most at least have sandwiches though Dei." This caused Deidara to sigh.
"Let's forget about the food for a minute, hm."
"No offense but that's the stupidest suggestion I've heard all day." Ling stated, practically pushing Greed out of the way to say his peace with the most serious look on their shared face. Though this did earn the prince a glare from Deidara and an angry internal shout from Greed.
"I'm pretty sure our time would be better spent going back to the orb and how it transported us here, hm." The blonde bit out, annoyed but trying to keep his head cool, and earning a sigh from Ling.
"Fine I guess that's fair…" Ling pouted, while internally Greed shoved his way back into control. Still rightfully mad about being booted from it earlier.
"Annoying little prick ain't he?"
"I've dealt with worse back home, hm."
I'm right here!
"So the orb clearly has more options than just flashing zeros and turning language on and off like a radio." Greed started up, eager to ignore the ever present voice in his head.
"Yeah… though thinking about it now, the "flashing zeros" could be something else, hm." Deidara followed up, looking a bit calmer now and even putting a hand to his chin as he thought.
"Really?" The homunculus questioned, pulling the topic of their discussion out of his pocket and eyeing the now numbered buttons. Flashing a smirk over to Deidara and seeing a surprised look on the bomber's face, Greed then asked. "Wanna check it out now?"
"... I'd rather you not go waving a world hopping device around like it's a flag, hm…" The blonde sighed but did motion for the raven haired homunculus to start pressing the buttons.
In went the code 1-5-4-5-2, and while the first entering of the code back in the world of the dead revealed nothing but zeros… this time the orb flashed numbers: 46:32:51 with the last few counting down by the seconds before it faded away.
Though much different from what both Greed and Ling were used to seeing… it was obvious to them what the code did now. A quick, shared look with Deidara made it clear that the ninja was on the same page. It was a timer, though what it was counting down for… Greed had a guess but there's still a chance he could be wrong.
"Think it's tied to the world hopping part?" Greed questioned out loud.
Probably shouldn't test it further till the others get back…
"Could be… or it could be a countdown to something tied to this world, hm…" Deidara mused in return. A thoughtful look still on his face as he looked over the orb. "We also don't know if there is a range for the effects of this thing either, yeah. So we should hold off on testing that feature until the others get back, hm."
At Deidara's mention of the others, Greed felt his and Ling's shared stomach growl. They were starting to run on empty. The ninja seemed to have heard it as well and sighed out loud.
"Hopefully they come back soon, yeah."
"Kinda hope they also got food as well in there." Greed agreed, trying to ignore Ling's internal whining about how long it's taking. As well as putting the orb back into his pocket.
"... if not then there's always a couple stores we could go into, hm." Though looking annoyed Deidara seemed to finally concede to falling back onto the topic of food… though from looking close at the blonde's face, Greed could pick up a bit of red tinting the other teen's face. Along with watching as the bomber crossed his arms.
"Hunger getting to you as well now huh?"" Greed snickered, watching as Deidara's face got more red.
"Shut up!" The bomber shouted, turning so his blonde bangs hid his face from Greed's view. "It's both yours and Ling's fault about food so much today, hm!"
"Can't argue against that!" Greed laughed, and just as he was fully enjoying the moment…
"YOU MOTHER FUCKER!"
A shout was heard, and within a split second all Greed could feel was confusion… and a boiling hot coffee hitting his head and spilling all over into his face.
….
What the hell? Was the first thought to cross Deidara's mind as soon as the shout happened. The exact thought repeated itself as soon as the coffee splashed over Greed's head and caused the unprepared homunculus to shout "SHIT!"
The ninja immediately then turned his attention to the person who threw the hot beverage… only to feel a sense that something was… uncanny about them.
The stranger's figure was completely androgynous looking, the white button up shirt and black dress pants doing nothing to convey a preferred gender. Their face shape was eerily similar to Ling's own, though the stranger's nose was a little more pointed, eyes a darker shade of violet and a little more rounded. Their hair was a long, wavy golden blond, a shade or two darker than Deidara's own, and tied back into a loose hanging ponytail.
All in all they look like a normal person on the surface… but the uncanny feeling Deidara got the longer he looked at them… it was almost like he was looking more at a sculpture someone else made… or even like the few times he would see Sasori's own puppet body. Flesh and bone they may be… but there was a strange perfection to it all. Everything was a little too symmetrical in the face. Hair a little too perfect in how it held together. Hell there wasn't even a noticeable blemish on their skin, let alone any trace of concealing makeup that Deidara could pick up.
Though… the one thing breaking this weirdly perfect image was their expression. The snarl on their features, the burning anger in their eyes, the vein bulging at their temple. It felt like the most genuine thing about this stranger.
"Out of everyone I could have run into, it just had to be you!" They shouted, pointing and directing all of their anger at Greed while also practically marching closer towards them.
Do… they have something against an alternate version of Ling? Deidara thought, eyes narrowed and one hand slipping into one of his side pouches as a precaution. Vaguely the ninja was also aware of Cheshire's hissing at the person approaching them… and seeming to try and hide behind Deidara's legs.
"Ah shit! God, what the hell is your problem?!" Greed shouted back, left hand raised to his face and wiping the coffee from his eyes. Only to get the back of his hand grabbed. "HEY!"
"Shut up and stop showing off your Ouroborus mark you dumbass!" The person hissed, sending Deidara an immediately suspicious look before double checking their surroundings and seeming to freeze up at spotting something.
Alarms were practically blaring in Deidara's head now… this person knew Greed, knew his exact marking and what it was called… but also knew something was up as well.
"Who the hell are you calling a dumbass?!" Greed shouted, pulling his hand out of the other person's hold easily.
"Greed…" Deidara tried to interrupt, earning him the stranger's violet gaze but seemingly overlooked by the homunculus that just continued on.
"I don't even know who you are!" Despite this declaration… the blonde stranger didn't even seem phased by this… yet seemed to also turn their attention to two figures that… in Deidara's honest opinion dressed Worse then Greed's tacky style back in the "Hot Topic" of Sam's world.
"... Let's continue this conversation between those two buildings over there…" the violet eyed person suggested, earlier anger seeming to be smoothed over but with caution and the suspicious looks towards the two individuals. It was a familiar enough look that Deidara remembers seeing often back home.
The look of someone being hiding from bounty hunters.
"No way in hell!"
"Greed, let's hear them out, hm." At Deidara's suggestion, Greed turned a disbelieving look towards the ninja and looked like he was about to argue… but then the sin's face scrunched up at, what Deidara could only assume, some conversation from Ling.
"Fine." Greed hissed, still sending a glare towards the stranger… while Deidara took the chance to glance over towards the tacky dressed people. One of the two had seemed to notice them and seemed to gesture to the other.
"Glad to see you being cooperative for once." The person's words were smug, capped off with a smirk breaking out across their face as they began turning towards their destination.
"Still have no idea who the hell you are…"
Deidara would have sighed, but given the fact he could tell this stranger was trying to keep the confrontation of the other residents, one dressed in a horrible blend of purples and green, while the other had clashing patterns making up their shirt and pants, of this world quiet, Deidara decided to keep focused and follow through with following the coffee thrower. Though the bomber did bend down to pick up the still agitated Cheshire, who let out a surprised meow and struggled a bit in Deidara's hold.
I'm not going to be the one responsible for losing Flippy's cat in another world.
Glancing over to Greed as they got closer to the alley, while keeping a steady hold on the squirming black furred feline, Deidara was pleased to note that Greed seemed to finally realize that they were being followed, and quieted down about it. Though… the sin seemed to also be pawing at the collar of his open yellow top that…
"... You're pissed over a coffee stain aren't you, hm?" Deidara sighed quietly enough for Greed to hear him.
"Considering every other outfit I owned was left in another world aside from this one. Yeah, I'm pretty pissed about getting it stained."
Deidara was half tempted to comment on how stupid the sin's reasoning was… but really thinking about it, Deidara couldn't help but realize that had the coffee been thrown at him… Oh he would not let that slight go for as long as both he and the perpetrator lived.
"... You know what, fair enough, hm." At the ninja's comment, Greed shot him a smile… and Deidara had to immediately turn his attention away from Greed's face as the ninja felt his own heating up.
Stupid pretty face of his…. Stupid crush.
With those thoughts drifting through Deidara's mind, he also quietly registered that the coffee thrower led them into the alley a fair distance out of sight from the streets. Cheshire also seemed to finally stop squirming in the bomber's hold, the cat's single red eye seeming to be intently focused on the two that followed after them now.
They're not shinobi. Barely any thought in trying to get around or avoid the obvious trap we lead them into… Blue eyes focused on the androgynous blond's back for a second. If that's what they're up to… Though if they're planning on trying to take Greed and I out as well…
A few small clay beetles subtly crawled out from the mouth on Deidara's hand, tiny wings ready to take flight in whatever direction he required of them. The only other one to notice them was Cheshire, who seemed to eye them with caution.
"You know!" Greed loudly said, causing Deidara to tense up and cast a "What the hell are you doing?!" look to the sin of avarice… only to take note of the hint of gray taking over the small sliver of flesh on his neck. "I get this asshole here, made a bit of a scene earlier. But I'm pretty sure that doesn't give you an open invitation to follow us, when we're trying to handle this in private."
Deidara turned his attention to the two horribly dressed people that followed the trio (Quartet if you count the cat or Ling, and Quintet if you count them both) and only had a single second to mentally question "Why are they pointing sticks at us?" Before something green shot past Deidara's head, and seemed to wrap itself around the stalker's necks… before a sickening snapping sound was heard. The body's falling limp in the hold of a long, sickly green appendage.
"Rule one of dealing with wizards dumbass. Take them out before they can even wave their wands in your direction." The stranger they followed spoke behind them, a smug tone to their voice as the extended arm seemed to rapidly return to its place of origin… with familiar red sparks briefly dancing across the unnaturally colored limb and leaving behind normal, healthy looking skin. "Then again, I highly doubt your shield could handle even the weakest of spells in this world."
The hell are wizards? Deidara briefly thought, confusion taking over his features for a moment, even while the ninja's body reflexively remained defensive. Clay beetles subtly scuttled down Deidara's body and began to move about the alleyway. All while Cheshire tensed up, black fur poofing up and brushing against the ninja's neck and chin, and began hissing once again in Deidara's hold.
"... You know, I could have tolerated you just being some random asshole that has beef with someone blessed with my good looks." Greed stated, seeming to casually take a couple steps in front of Deidara, even when the homunculus's eyes set into a glare at the blonde shapeshifter.
"... Seriously, hm?" Deidara muttered… while the shapeshifter before them scoffed and rolled their eyes at Greed's statement.
"But it seriously pisses me off more, that even in another world, it had to be my shitty little sibling that ruined my day."
Wait…
"Your day? Fuck you! It was my day you ruined by showing your stupid mug here in the first place Greed!"
Is this really happening again?
"You shitting me right now?! How the hell would I know you would even be in another world, let alone know exactly where to find you?! Which by the way, I could have gone the rest of my life never even thinking about you again Envy! But noooo, you pop up out of nowhere and ruin something of mine again!"
Because there's no god damned way…
"Ooooh believe me, I would have loved to do the same. Hell I actually managed to do so the entire time I've been stuck in this god awful world! But noooo, you just had to show up as soon as I finished my shift with your human-"
"ARE WE SERIOUSLY RUNNING INTO SOMEONE ELSE FROM ANOTHER WORLD?! AGAIN, HM?!" Deidara exploded, dropping the no doubt confused, and startled cat onto the ground to better express his annoyance at the situation. The siblings had also stopped their argument at Deidara's outburst and turned their attention towards the ninja. Greed huffed out a sigh almost immediately after the bomber's outburst.
"Looks like it… Think we can demand a refund for this one though? They kinda suck." Though Greed tried to sound casual about it, the fact he still stood protectively between a still ticked off Deidara and Envy, and the fact that he didn't let his shield down at all… Greed was clearly still on edge towards the shapeshifter.
"I'm being serious Greed, hm! How the hell did this even end up happening again in the same god damned week, yeah?!"
Envy meanwhile now seemed to stare at Deidara, violet eyes narrowed in confusion and darting between the blond and their sibling.
"Greed… what does your human pet mean by "again"?"
"... pet…?" The bomber repeated, his frayed nerves snapping and giving way to a now ignited temper that was slowly ticking down to inevitable detonation.
"... Might want to rephrase that Envy." Greed hissed out, taking a subtle step away from Deidara… and taking notice of the small clay beetles slowly gathering around Envy's shoe covered feet. "Consider this the one time I'm ever gonna give you brotherly advice… Dei's a… Friend? Maybe?"
"Why are you phrasing it like it's a question?" the sin of jealousy questioned, violet eyes narrowed and an annoyed scowl lingering on their lips… and seemingly ignorant of the death glare Deidara was shooting the shapeshifting homunculus.
"Point is!" Greed continued, waving off Envy's question and deciding to take another two steps away from the angry ninja as well as his sibling. "Dei's not a pet, and most likely will kill you if you don't take it back… right now."
"Seriously?" The blonde haired homunculus questioned, arms crossed and weight shifted slightly giving them an uncaring pose. "Your human pet can't take one little comment? Thought you'd pick some up with thicker skin but I guess I judged wrong."
Deidara's fuse just blew, right as he made a quick hand sign and detonated the tiny clay beetles around Envy's feet. The blast from a single one was only strong enough to be on scale with firecrackers, but with the amount gathered around they were more than enough to cause the unsuspecting homunculus to stumble and for there to be burnt cloth and skin around their ankles.
Envy as soon as it happened, only had enough time to let out a startled "What the hell?!" before Deidara closed the distance barely a second later…. The mouths on the blonde ninja's hands wide open as he clasped them tight around the shapeshifting homunculus's throat… then biting down hard just as Envy's back hit the concrete below. Blood trickling between the teeth and flowing down Envy's neck into the once white collar of their dress shirt, as fear began to creep into the homunculus's expression.
Good.
Pissed off blue eyes stared deep into panicked violet eyes as Deidara snarled at the downed homunculus, who seemed like they were mentally trying to process the fact that there's two different sets of teeth biting into their neck.
"I don't care if you are related to Greed in any way, hm." Deidara hissed out, making sure to put emphasis on each word to keep the downed shapeshifter's attention. "I don't even care much about being called a human, after all you aren't one… BUT. Don't you ever call me a pet again, hm."
Violet eyes, while wide in shock, soon narrowed in a challenging glare as Envy made a gurgling choking sound under the pressure on their neck, and the blood dribbling out of their mouth, as their lips mouthed something that Deidara couldn't recognize. Red sparks faintly started to dance at Envy's neck, attempting to fix the damage but with Deidara's hands still there nothing was getting fixed.
Feeling like he got his point across however, Deidara decided to let go finally and quickly took a few steps away from the now healing homunculus. Envy sat up soon after, spitting out some blood as their throat finally healed over. A glare was then firmly aimed at Deidara while the properly threatened immortal gingerly rubbed at their neck.
"… I hate your human Greed." They stated, glare still firmly on the ninja who was matching the intensity of the violet eyed glare.
"Yeah, too bad for you. I like him. Even when he bites." The chuckle from Greed got Deidara to finally stop glaring at the shapeshifter and turn his attention back towards his raven haired companion. A grin was on Greed's face, with his violet-red eyes crinkled slightly from just how wide it was, and easily framed by the long dark locks that rested at the side of the homunculus's face.
He likes me? The ninja found himself thinking as a blush began to creep its way once again across Deidara's face while looking at Greed… only for the moment to be ruined by a loud gagging sound.
"No one wants to hear about what you two do in private Greed. Gross."
For a single second Deidara was confused by what Envy was insinuating… until Greed's exact wording hit him and now the ninja's face was pure crimson, while Greed seemed to be laughing at his own realization.
"IT'S NOT LIKE THAT, HM!"
….
Meanwhile, as the three were heavily distracting themselves… No one noticed how Cheshire shifted into a mist-like form behind them, and devoured the corpses of the two wizards that followed them into the alleyway. Leaving no trace of the murder that took place.
Reforming into his small cat body once again, Cheshire brought up a paw and began licking at it with one triangular ear pointed in the direction of the ensuing argument. Listening closely to the words of the wrong feeling, not humans, and the yellow haired human.
They're going to be busy with the stupid argument for a while… Cheshire thought to himself. A creeping boredom soon began filling the cat's mind before a decision to leave the wrong not humans and the explosive human to their devices settled.
Stretching out once, the small black cat trotted his way out of the alleyway. The bell on his neck barely making a sound from his strides, as he made it out into the streets of this new world.
Those dead humans definitely tasted different then the humans that would stumble into the Abyss… though these ones did also help in bringing Cheshire's powers back to feeling normal. Cheshire thought to himself, while sniffing the air to find where the green hunter and the metal scented woman were.
While yes, during the three days with the trio that joined the chain and his green themed human, Cheshire had felt his lost powers slowly coming back to him… there was a strange energy within the bodies of the two prey-humans that seemed to boost his own energy levels back to normal. Hell, he could easily shift back into his natural and more powerful chain form if he so wished.
Too bad the cat chain didn't feel like it. After all, his more human form would ruin the simple joy Cheshire got from being carried around by the metal scented woman or the green hunter. They were both much gentler than the explosion making human, and made the experience very comfortable. It would be a shame to let that end so soon. Speaking of…
"... Okay where did those idiots go?"
The moment Cheshire heard the metal woman's voice through the larger crowd of humans, the cat shaped chain trotted proudly over to her direction with his white tipped tail raised like a flag. The bell tied around his neck ringing with each step signaling his approach. Though from the sounds of this worlds humans passing by, the small chimes could easily be missed.
"Maybe one of them had to go to the bathroom?"
"…. Flippy, they were not that far from the cafe. If nature called either of them, pretty sure they would have checked the cafe we were in first."
"Just trying to give them the benefit of the doubt Sam… I really don't want to spiral into the other possibilities of what they could be doing…"
"… you know what, fair enough."
"… Though now that I think about it, one of them could have slipped in when you were attempting to flirt with the Barista."
Cheshire found them just in time to see the blue-brown haired woman turn red in the face and elbow the yellow eyed man. The cat got the distinct feeling it would have been more of a slap if her hands weren't full of cups of hot liquid and a box of what smelled like food.
"Shut up!"
"I'm just saying." The green hunter laughed, holding a couple other boxes of food. "Besides, there's no need to be so embarrassed about it! You were-"
"An utter failure I know!"
"… I wasn't going to say that. You just fumbled the delivery with nervousness. Nothing to be embarrassed about, it happens to everyone."
"… can we please switch focus to figuring out where the others are?"
Cheshire chose then to make himself known by letting out a loud "Mrrrow!"
The two humans immediately turned their attention towards Cheshire at the cat's noise.
"Oh! Cheshire there you are!" The human referred to as Flippy exclaimed, a smile beaming up from his scarred lips at seeing the small feline.
"Did Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum leave you behind little guy?" The human referred to as Sam asked, kneeling down after shifting her hold on the box of food and motioning for Cheshire to come closer.
What does Duldee and her puppet have to do with the explosion human and the weird not-human? Cheshire couldn't help but think with a head tilt and a blink of his single eye, before righting himself again and trotting up to the faded blue haired woman and letting her give soothing head scratches.
"Oh, I think I know what happened now." Flippy pipped up and shifted the boxes in his hands a bit. The metal scented woman let out a hum as she continued to pet and scritch the cat. "Cheshire could have wandered off somewhere and Deidara, Greed and Ling went to look for him. But clearly Cheshire didn't go that far if he found his way back."
"Somehow I doubt Greedling would go looking for the little guy on his own volition, and Deidara wouldn't have asked him for help."
No, but the explosion human did pick me up without warning. Cheshire thought with a purr rumbling in his throat. The treatment he was getting right now easing away the stress of the less ideal treatment he got earlier… especially being dropped like a sack of potatoes. That one was just plain rude.
"Just giving them the benefit of the doubt…" The green hunter sighed, a tired and almost disappointed look seeming to slowly settle on the man's face. However something seemed to come to mind that caused his expression to shift to a wide eyed "idea!" expression. "Hey Cheshire, do you know where the others are?"
"... Flippy… he's a cat. He's not-"
"Mrea!" Cheshire exclaimed, almost hesitantly moving his head away from Sam's hand and trotted a few steps in the direction of the alleyway the other world travelers went into. Then the cat turned his head in the direction of the two humans to make sure they were paying attention enough to know that he wanted them to follow him. "Meaa!"
"That way huh?" Flippy, the ever smart hunter, picked up making Cheshire nod in response. The surprised look on Sam's face however made Cheshire almost want to laugh, even more so as she spoke up.
"... You know… I really shouldn't be surprised by anything anymore. Yet I keep getting surprised…"
The two humans followed after the chain, and in no time at all they made it to the alleyway. Thankfully for Cheshire whatever stupid argument was going on had finished however…
"Where the hell did the bodies go, hm?!"
At Deidara's exclamation, Cheshire found himself looking up towards Flippy's face, fully remembering the hunter's words towards the blonde earlier… and was now purring in amusement at the pure disappointment on the green haired man's face.
"... Guys what the hell?"
Oh and it appears Sam is just as disappointed as well. How fun.
Omake:
"-So yeah that's what I've got planned so… faaAAAAAA WHAT THE HELL?! Why am I in quotations?!"
"Huh? How should I know writer-san? … wait, the Omake segment wasn't supposta start fer another few minutes…"
A series of veeery loud footsteps resounded outside of the door to this quaint little sitting room with the frankly boring TV on the wall above the desk. It's not even connected to cable, just shows random overviews of other worlds. Whoever owns this should demand a full refund or maybe invest in cable. Would totally make this room more fu-
"MOTHER FUCKER! PUT MY LAPTOP DOWN RIGHT NOW!"
Ooooh hey there~! Don't mind me just passing through~!
"... Writer-san I thought we locked this place up when we went on break."
"WE DID! WE FUCKING DID!"
Man, I'm sensing a lot of hostility from the little… I wanna say lady but-
"THEY/THEM YOU JACKASS! PUT MY SHIT DOWN!"
Okay okay, no need to keep screaming your little head off.
dnoewfiiNFIOf GOOD! EVERYTHING'S RIGHT AGAIN!
"No but seriously writer-san… How the hell did this guy even get in here?"
"Like I said Ichimaru-san. Was just passing through and happened to come across this room. Sooo I decided to check it out for funsies." The tall white haired jackass who was dressed in black and with a stupid blindfold on laughed. "Oh, now who's being rude~?"
Don't mess with my stuff dude… Wait, how do you know Gin?
"Oh I watched the series back in the day. Anyways, you two seem like you're gonna be busy. So I'm gonna skedaddle on out of here and go back to exploring the multiverse. Have fun~!"
"... What the hell just happened writer-san?"
I… I honestly have no idea… I'm still trying to process the fact Gojo from Jujutsu Kaisen was in here… messing with my shit… and the fact he's watched Bleach? Also he's traveling the worlds as well?
"Okay seriously… How did ya not know 'bout him writer-san?"
Hey, the multiverse is huge! I only have semi-omnipotence when I've got a writing device in my hands, and even then I barely know most shit on average!
"I meant how did ya not know how he got in here? I thought tha room only had special access ta the two o' us?"
… Gin I'm being 100% honest in saying this… but I have no fucking idea other then the answer maybe being the sheer fact that he's Satoru Gojo.
"Uh huh…"
… We should probably get to the proper Omake now and leave the Gojo debate for later.
"Ah right." Gin cleared his throat and put on his signature, fox-like smile. "Sorry 'bout all that dear readers. There was a small technical issue but we're back on track again. Writer-san seems to be especially back since they've got a majority of what's ta come planned out now~!"
That's right dear readers! I have specific plot points now planned out for some future worlds! As well as a set cast of characters to come and what specific worlds they will appear in!
"Though clearly the Gojo part escaped yer plans…"
… again I had no idea that guy was gonna be popping up in here! I've been on break for months!
"Right…"
Ugh… anyways. If any of you readers have been following me on my Tumblr, or even specifically looking at my tumblr with the Across the Worlds tag I have on that account… you uh… you'd probably have seen a bunch of my art related to this story. And well… would clearly have seen some of the characters I've added in with some of the more recent doodle pages.
"Basically, writer-san has some minor spoilers on their page but they've also been using their art ta help figure out some character interactions and moments fer future parts of this story. So some might be subjected ta change in the future when they do eventually appear."
Also to note… I still have no writing schedule but I still try to write even just a little here and there till. So next chapter might not be out till early 2024, depending on how motivated my brain feels towards writing and all.
"Now then onta elements that were in this chapter~!" On the screen behind Gin an image of the Dimensional Transport Orb appears. "Aside from Writer-san finally saying an official name fer tha orb, one major change ta it now is that with every world hop, there's gonna be a cool down period fer it. Unlike in the original run where tha orb would randomly need a recharge every so often yet never would say when the cooldown time is over. The new version always will count down till it can be used next."
Yeah… That was one of, what I think was, my biggest problems in the original. I couldn't keep focused long enough on most worlds, so I let the old DTO be able to just… transport the group very often until they got to a world I did want to explore a bit. Now I actually want to challenge myself and actually have you guys explore the worlds as well this time, instead of just hopping from one to the next on a dime.
"Next is Cheshire's POV… ya hardly ever explored the little kitty's POV much in the past."
… Yeah and honestly? I dunno why… he's kinda made it to my top favorite POV's to write~!
"Kitty also doesn't seem to keen on calling most people by their names fer the most part till the end."
Honestly… feels most like a cat move to me. Like my idea is that he kinda just refers to all humans by what he feels they are… but will sometimes refer to their names when reminded of what they are. Like in Canon of Pandora Hearts, he never really refers to most humans by name unless they held some kind of significance to him… at least that's my impression of the character.
"I think that's 'bout it fer this section." The silver haired man hummed, and took to lounging in one of the cozy chairs in the room. "Anymore 'nd there won't be much surprise fer the next chapter. Whenever Writer-san gets around ta finishing it that is."
… Rude, I'm doing my best.
"That ya are~!" Gin laughed before turning to face the Audience. "We hope ta see ya again in the next chapter~!"
Till next time.
"Bye, bye~!"