Arc 1: The Living Legend [I]
Chapter: The Disgruntled Tour Guide
Many a millennia have elapsed since the Hero Himmel's passing. Frieren found herself in Japan, specifically the capital city of Tokyo. This was not her first time visiting the second largest country on the planet. In fact, by now, she has travelled all across the globe multiple times, seen what different parts of the world had to offer and figured out what she had to offer in return. It has almost been a century since she last visited the official capital of the world, and although she was certain she knew her way around the city, she decided to be part of a tour.
Their tour guide was a young man. Well, they were all young compared to her, Frieren thought sadly. He was in his late teens, average height, average build and he told them up front that he was covering for an acquaintance of his who was slacking off on his duties and the tour company couldn't cancel or reschedule, because the tour was being conducted as a part of a government program, with tie-ins to a well known private tourism company, who had come up with an initiative to get students involved in the name of broadening young minds, making the youth keep in touch with their rich history and culture, while also experiencing diversity which came from interacting with individuals from different parts of the globe.
"Oh, that seems nice!" A rather curvaceous young woman exclaimed.
She was around average height and had a fairly muscular build which was not surprising given her profession as she was definitely a demon slayer. Frieren found her complexion slightly pale. Even her eyes were of a pale green colour. Frieren took note of her long eyelashes and the small beauty mark beneath each eye. But those weren't the only things which made her stand out. The woman had long, light pink hair which faded into a lime green colour at the halfway point. She wore her hair in three thick braids. She had five shorter, choppy clumps hanging over her face as voluminous bangs. There tips were lime green as well.
"Not really." The young man said. "The company is just cutting corners and the CEO is just filling his own pockets with the government's money, which is actually the tax payer's money. So as expected, at the end of the day the average, hardworking citizens of this great nation are getting screwed over."
The woman who wore the heavily modified pink tinted version of the well known demon slayer uniform which gave away her profession gasped. "That's terrible!"
The young man shrugged. "It is what it is, Mitsuri Kanroji-san. You won't hear me bitch, moan and complain."
"Except you are doing exactly that." A young woman mumbled beneath her breath.
She was a petite girl who was both scrawny and short. She had dark green hair, purple eyes and a spattering of freckles above her nose. Frieren noticed the bandages covering her left arm and at first she was worried, but then she detected the smell of familiar medicinal herbs and she came to the conclusion that like many doctors and researchers before her time, the foolish girl had been performing experiments on her own body.
"Hikigaya-kun, you're not even in the tax bracket." A woman in her mid-twenties spoke up in a clear and audible voice which carried all the way through to their disgruntled tour guide.
The woman was what most males who consider attractive. She had short hair which didn't even reach all the way down to her neck. It just stopped midway. The colour of her hair was dark plum. She had bangs hanging on her right side. Her eyes were aubergine and not that Frieren was taking notes, but she had a medium sized bust. The other thing which stood out about her appearance were her clothes, and that was saying a lot, because the group of people who had participated in the tour were really diverse, hailing from special regions, coming from different walks of life. Even then no one had thought to turn up dressed in just athletic wear.
Hikigaya, their young tour guide got a bit flustered by the comment. "Well, this is still a part-time job, but I am not getting paid. Isn't that kinda unfair, Shizuka Mikazuki-san?"
The woman didn't look remotely impressed. "Not really. Haven't you heard of unpaid internships, Hikigaya-kun?"
Although Frieren was nigh immortal, having lived for countless millennia, bearing witness to the rise and fall of many advanced civilizations, over the decades she had become rather impatient over the numerous incessant quarrels of humans. True, their short lived lives would be over in the blink of an eye, but they still managed to do the unthinkable and their pointless arguments began to tax on her patience. Despite having all the time in the world, she didn't have enough time for human nonsense.
"Why are you telling us all these things?" Frieren asked finally and put an end to the argument which would no doubt break out between these two polar opposite people. "Is there a point to this conversation?"
For the first time it felt like Hikigaya actually noticed her in the crowd and she couldn't help but wonder what were the things he was taking notes of about her appearance. For one thing, it was clear that she wasn't human; she was an elf. She never tried to hide her true self even when the world was going through dark ages and dark times. Her petite build, her long white hair which she always kept tied into two pigtails gave the impression of youthful exuberance. But her green eyes had watched eons flash by in a blink and her large, pointed ears have heard all the secrets of the world long forgotten to time.
Hikigaya realized he was staring and caught himself before it could be deemed inappropriate. "Not exactly. I was just giving you guys a heads up. If the tour sucks, it's not my fault. Blame my friend who couldn't cancel his date, because he thought his girlfriend would be unhappy. Blame the private company who couldn't reschedule, because they didn't want to give you guys a refund, and last but not the least, blame the Japanese government who okayed the initiative where an average student has to show a bunch of tourists a good time by taking them all around town."
"Basically blame anyone but you, is that what you are saying, Hikigaya-sama?" The short, scrawny girl spoke up and this time she meant her words to be heard.
"Exactly. And please call me Hikigaya, Maomao-san. You are not at the imperial palace, you know."
Maomao let out an irritated huff and mumbled a couple of things underneath her breath and taking it as his cue, their disgruntled young guide who introduced himself as Hachiman Hikigaya at the very beginning, began their tour.
Author's Note: Welcome to "Jupiter Jazz: Interaction 101 with Hikigaya"
Basically, I wanted to do a fic where the main focus will be on Hikigaya interacting with a bunch of different characters from different anime, tv shows, movies, books, videogames, etc. I like writing character interactions. I think its fun. And people say I am good at it. So I decided to do a whole new series about it.
But I know there has to be some interesting hook, so here it is – "This fic takes place in an alternate universe where life began on the planet Jupiter and Japan is the second largest nation in the world and a global super-power and everyone's dream is to move to Tokyo which is the official capital of the planet."
Well, there you have it, the hook! But don't get it twisted, this fic will be about character interactions. I mean can you imagine Frieren interacting with the cast of Demon Slayer. Like there's Tanjiro who feels bad for killing demons after hearing their sad back story, and then there is Frieren who is just like, nope demons are the absolute worst, they have no redemptions, no empathy, they just mimic human behavior and use human words to deceive. On the note I believe Frieren will become fast friends with Goblin Slayer…Sorry, I guess I made it too weird for you guys.
Okay, let's do a poll –
Poll#1: Which Character Should Be Featured In The Next Arc?
Option 1: Ai Hoshino – Oshi No Ko
Option 2: Yor Forger – Spy x Family
Option 3: Characters From The Reviews.
…Yeah. Just two options.
I have decided to let you guys decide the characters and interactions you want to see in this fic.
So please suggest a bunch of female characters in the reviews.
You can also send me an entire list. That would be great!
Poll#3: What Age Do You Want Hikigaya To Be?
Option 1: 17 – High School Student.
Option 2: 20 – University Student.
Option 3: 23 – Working Adult.
Please pick accordingly.
Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter
Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.
And I will be back with the next chapter soon.
Later 'gators!