I do not own Dragon Quest 11 or any of the characters.
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Six orbs. The Rainbough had granted them all a vision when David touched it for the first time of six orbs at a specific altar forming a path to Yggdrasil. Out of coincidence, or maybe fate, Erik had had one of the orbs, a red one, and Robert and Jade had gotten a yellow one from Octagonia as their prize for coming in second during the tournament, the Rainbough being the first-place prize. And, as it happened, Kai knew where to find the third, the green orb. That left purple, blue, and silver. But that was a problem for another time. For now, it was time for training.
"Left hand, both of you," Kai ordered.
Erik and David exchanged knowing glances, then both switched their weapons to their off hands. As they did Kai and Sylvando both drew their swords in their left hands. Finding out Sylvando could dual wield wasn't overly surprising. Given his personality and line of work, being ambidextrous made sense. And now, Kai only had to abuse one of the pair to train them, as Sylvando could train the other. Kai had chosen David.
"I'm not giving you time to practice form," Kai warned David. "You have to learn on the fly!"
He accented his statement with a strike and David tried to block it while instinctively shifting his stance to a right-handed stance, toppling over.
"You're weak!" Kai snapped as David scrambled to his feet. "You're pathetic!" He struck again, David dropping his sword but snatching it back up. "You're supposed to be some great hero? You're nothing!"
He again disarmed David with ease, then kicked him, throwing him backward. He kicked the fallen sword back to him again and David scrambled up, readying himself again.
"No wonder you couldn't protect your home," Kai sneered. "At least they didn't have to live long enough to find out how pathetic their home-grown hero is."
David roared in anger, charging and slashing wildly, body operating on instinct. The strikes were sloppy and unfocused, but better. Kai allowed him to try over and over, watching as David's form improved with each and every strike. Soon, David was fighting nearly as well with his left hand as he had with his right. Finally, Kai dropped his own Cobblestone Sword so that it stabbed into the ground for David. David wrenched it free instantly as Kai drew his dagger and Dragovian King Sword. David threw everything he had at Kai, his sword whipping around over and over. His form was still sloppy, but he was passable already. If he could keep it up.
Kai deflected several more strikes, then ducked under a blade and lunged, ramming his shoulder into David's side, knocking him to the ground. David lay there, panting for a moment, then looked up at him.
"Do that again," Kai instructed him.
David nodded, standing, then took a breath and struck.
David had not done that again. He'd tried, but he hadn't been able to keep it up for more than a couple minutes at most. His left arm simply wasn't used to wielding a sword. Erik had done far better, wielding a smaller, lighter weapon, he'd been able to pick up the skill more quickly. He had a long way to go before mastering the technique, but he had done better. Enough that Kai had used the Fun-Sized Forge David had with them to forge Erik a replica of the dagger he already had to wield in his left hand. Kai had also tested Sylvando, and had found his skill with a pair of blades to be surprisingly proficient. He'd damn-near mastered it.
They had passed through Puerto Valor to access a channel to the sea, only to be marooned on an island lost inside a permanent fog in a dead zone. They'd met a mermaid there that was waiting for the human fisherman she was in love with. They'd gone to find him, but the village they went to had sent all of their men to fight a Tentacular, one which had apparently tried to attack David and the others as they fled Gondolia. So now, they were sailing to aid the men in order to be able to find the man they were looking for.
"So, why did you decide to help us?" Sylvando asked. "Was it really all for revenge?"
"Yes," Kai said. "Robert killed my brother. I'll kill him even if I die. I'm following along to keep him alive until I can beat him. No other reason."
Sylvando nodded. "And Jade?"
"What about her?" Kai asked.
"Well, she was the only one who was able to convince you to join us," Sylvando pointed out. "She was able to get you to spare Hendrik. Men with personalities like yours don't typically listen to anyone, unless there's a special reason."
"Don't twist things around," Kai growled. "I owe her a favor for curing the poison that little shit in Octagonia used. That's it."
Sylvando nodded, and Kai rolled his eyes, walking down to the prow of the ship. A couple of hours later, they finally spotted other ships. Kai frowned. All of them were in their lifeboats, and were waving and shouting at them. Kai reached back and drew his Cobblestone Sword in silence.
"Ooh, these must be the gallant squid hunters!" Sylvando guessed. "I wonder which of them is our blushing husband-to-be! Yoohoo! Over here! Excuse me, which one of you big, brave boys is Kai?"
Kai frowned, trying to make out the sailors' words. Finally, two of them pointed upward just as Kai understood their words.
"Above you," he breathed, head snapping upward.
He exploded into the air, inhaling, then roared, a massive torrent of flames erupting from his mouth into the ship falling from the sky. The flames blasted the back of the ship apart and diverted the rest of the burning wreckage away from them, allowing it to crash down safely. Then, he landed back on the deck of their own ship, turning back to the front. As he did, the Tentacular, a giant, tan squid with the top of its head a blueish-purple, bust from the water, hauling itself onto the prow of their ship.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding!" Erik complained.
"Complain later," Kai said, tossing Erik his Cobblestone Sword and drawing his Dragovian King Sword. "Your knives won't do anything to that."
Erik nodded, and they all charged. The Tentacular swiped at them from the left, but Veronica hurled a trio of fireballs into it and it roared in pain, pulling the tentacle back into the water. When another tentacle swept in from their right, Kai leapt onto its underside, slashing it nearly off, then dropped to the deck of the ship. Just as he landed, Erik and David leapt at the Tentacular's face. Before they could reach it, it spat out a deluge of water, washing both of them backward. Then, Sylvando dropped past from above, his two Silver Rapiers slashing down the Tentacular's front over and over as he flipped and spun. Finally, he landed on his feet and Kai leapt off of his back with Jade. Jade drove her spear into its head, then pulled on a pair of Iron Claws, ripping the spear free and tossing it behind her before tearing down the Tentacular's front with her claws. As she did, Kai stepped off the Tentacular's body, throwing himself high, then turned perpendicular to the ground and spun himself, his sword blurring around him before buzz sawing back down the Tentacular's front. It shrieked in pain, a pair of new tentacles bursting from the water, only for a blast of flames and a blast of Zammle to greet them from Veronica and Robert respectively. As Kai landed on his feet, David ran up the Tentacular's front for three steps before slashing the squid several times. A moment later, Erik stabbed his borrowed sword into the Tentacular's head before dragging it downward, ripping a gaping hole in the Tentacular's head. Kai narrowed his eyes as the Tentacular screeched and flailed, but remained stuck fast to the prow of the ship. He wanted to burn it, but he'd burn the ship with it.
"No breathing fire, if you please, Darling," Sylvando said, seeming to have read his mind. "First, let's get this stowaway off of our ship, hm?"
"Gladly," Kai nodded, pulling his left arm back. "I'll tilt it, you get the suckers. It'll only last a moment."
"Oh, honey, a moment is plenty of time," Sylvando winked.
"Don't ever do that again," Kai growled, then swung his arm forward. Blades of compressed, razor-sharp wind roared to life around his arm and raced forward, tearing upward into the Tentacular. It rocked back and to the side, and Sylvando shot forward from one side, Jade moving in from the other. Together, they rapidly slashed off all of the suckers attached to the ship. A moment later, Jade jumped, slamming a kick into the front of it and it pitched backward, shrieking in pain and surprise as it fell, splashing down in the water. Finally, Kai stepped up over it, but when he roared, it wasn't flames that spewed from his mouth, but frigid, frozen air. As the frozen breath slammed into the giant squid, it encased it in ice, the ice spreading outward rapidly until the water all around their ship was frozen. Then, Kai dropped onto the ice and plunged his sword down into the squid. A moment later, the ice around the squid all but shattered, a cloud of darkness flooding the air where the Tentacular had been. As the rest of the ice broke apart, Kai leapt off of a piece of it, landing lightly with the others as the fishermen from Lonolulu cheered.
"How'd you do that?" David frowned. "I thought dragons breathe fire."
"Most do," Kai nodded. "But Dragovians can also use cold breath."
David shook his head slowly. "You're...a monster."
"Fuck you, too," Kai growled, walking away from the others, stopping at the back of the ship.
After a few minutes, Jade stepped up beside him, holding out a rag. He shook his head.
"It's made from orichalcum and a Liquid Metal Sword, neither of which requires cleaning or maintenance."
Jade's eyes widened, but she nodded. They stood in silence for a few minutes as Jade cleaned her spear and claws before Jade finally spoke.
"He didn't mean it," Jade said. "He just meant that you're more dangerous than he was expecting. It wasn't meant to be an insult."
"I know," Kai nodded. "I don't give a shirt what he has to say anyway, beyond him being able to piss me off. I'm just worried about Michelle."
"Why?" Jade asked.
"Because Mermaids live for hundreds of years," Kai said. "For a Mermaid, a human's lifespan is the blink of an eye. I'm not sure the Kai we're trying to find here is the one she's waiting for."
Jade nodded. "Isn't that true for you as well, though? You live longer than a Mermaid, don't you?"
Kai nodded. "For most Dragovians, yes. But I spent so much time around humans when I was serving in Dundrasil that I've adjusted to the human sense of time."
Jade nodded. "That glaive, is it like your sword?"
Kai shook his head. "It's not orichalcum, but it is mythril."
Jade nodded. "It's a beautiful weapon."
Kai nodded. "Thank you." He stared out to sea for a while. After a short discussion with the sailors, Sylvando had them sailing back to Lonolulu with them. Then, half a day of sailing later, during which time Kai continued to drill Erik and David on dual wielding, they were enjoying a luau, a sort of party. As David ran around trying to find the other Kai, Kai sat at the bar. The bartender glanced at him, and the small stack of gold he'd set in front of him, and set a bottle down, taking a couple of the coins. After a moment, Jade sat beside him.
"Not going to leave me to drink in peace?" Kai asked.
"What are we drinking to?" Jade asked, the bartender handing her a glass, which she filled instantly.
"The bliss of ignorance," Kai said. "At least while the blackout lasts."
Jade nodded, swallowing her drink. Kai poured himself and drained it, and Jade did the same. Kai drained another. Jade followed suit. On the fourth, Kai's lip twitched toward a smile as Jade drained her shot. Finally, he smirked, not bothering to look at her.
"I wouldn't if I were you," Kai warned, draining his shot.
Jade shared his smirk, draining hers. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Kai's smirk grew into a grin and he poured them both a shot. "Have it your way."
They stayed there, competing shot for shot, until Sylvando came to collect them as the sun was beginning to rise. He frowned disapprovingly at the half-empty second bottle of liquor, then sighed.
"David found Kai, but he claims to be the grandson of the one we're looking for," Sylvando explained.
"Kai is short for a full name, right?" Kai guessed.
Sylvando nodded. "We found Kanui, but the darling says we're looking for his grandfather, Kainoa, who passed away. We're heading back to Michelle to tell her."
Kai stared at the bar for a moment before nodding. He picked up the bottle, taking a swig, then set it back down and stood. Jade stood as well, considerably less steady than him, and they headed for their ship, Kai keeping an eye on Jade to make sure she didn't fall while they walked.
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