GENSHIN IMPACT X ZENLESS ZONE ZERO
Chapter 03: New Friends on Sixth Street
After the extensive interrogation by Zhu Yuan's team was wrapped up, Aether and Paimon went out by themselves to explore the sights of New Eridu. Their friends did likewise, saying they would meet up again later in where they started, Lumina Square. The two walked all the way across the city, amazed by the different kinds of people and tall buildings around them. After walking for so long, however, their stomachs were rumbling fiercely by the time they reached a new section dubbed Sixth Street. Paimon was on the verge of collapsing to the ground at this point.
"Ugh….so….hungry. Paimon's stomach is eating itself inside out." she groaned, holding her belly. Aether looked her way.
"I'm sorry, Paimon. But I don't think they take Mora in this world." he said, his little friend groaning. Just then, as they rounded a street corner, they could smell the wafting aroma of what smelled like ramen noodles and different broths. Following the smell led them to Waterfall Soup, the local ramen stop for those passing by or living on Sixth Street. At the chairs already eating were a pair of siblings, one with light grey hair and another with dark blue hair. But all Paimon could focus on was the amazing smells and her growling stomach, growing louder by the minute.
"Ohhh….that looks SO GOOD! But…Paimon knows we don't have "Dennies" that police lady told us about." she said. To their surprise, they received glances from the two at the counter.
"Uhh…excuse me? Are you two lost? Were you looking for a shop on Sixth Street?" the girl asked. Paimon and Aether looked a bit surprised, caught off guard.
"Is this what this part of town is called? Sixth Street?" Aether asked. The girl's brother nodded.
"Yeah. This is Sixth Street." he said, glancing at the traveler's attire "Something tells me you're new here. Am I right?" They glimpsed at one another before Paimon lightly blushed, Aether scratching the back of his head.
"Uhhh…heh heh. Yeah. You got that right." she replied shyly "We actually came out of something called a "Hollow" after we were sucked in through a Domain in our world. But…eh. You probably wouldn't believe us." The twins lightly gasped and huddled closer.
"Wise? Did you hear that?" the girl whispered softly to her brother.
"Yeah, Belle. This must be related to that strange anomaly Fairy told us about earlier." Wise responded "There may be more going on here than we initially thought. Why don't we get to know them?" Belle nodded before they looked back to Aether and Paimon, the two both waving a hand.
"Hey! You two! You must be starving! C'mon over and join us for some of General Chop's ramen! Our treat!" Belle proclaimed. Paimon gasped, her eyes suddenly ignited with life once again.
"Ooooohh! Music to Paimon's ears!" she exclaimed before flying over, Aether rushing after her. Now aside Wise and Belle, they met the restaurant's bright red owner, General Chop.
"Oh ho. Looks like we've got some new faces. Welcome! Welcome to Waterfall Soup! Anything I can get you two? If Wise and Belle are offering to pay, you don't want to squander THIS opportunity!" he laughed, showcasing his mechanical arms. They tried looking over the restaurant's menu, but they were unable to read the writing of New Eridu as opposed to the texts and languages of Teyvat.
"Uhhh…Paimon doesn't understand any of this." she groaned, rubbing her head as Aether agreed. Belle shifted closer to Paimon.
"It's okay. Here. Let me translate for you." she said, beginning to read off the menu. In the end, both travelers ordered two extra large helpings of the barbecue beef bowl, Paimon going into hers like a ravenous dog. Once she felt satisfied enough, she sighed with a heavenly look on her face. Wise and Belle took the time to get to know their new friends better in the meanwhile.
"So…you're saying you come from a place called Teyvat?" Wise asked "Can't say I ever heard of it." Aether wiped sauce from his mouth.
"It's made up of several different nations that spread across a huge world." he explained "There's the city of Fontaine, the Nation of Justice, the islands of Inazuma, the town of Mondstadt and much more." Belle briefly smiled.
"Sounds like a place straight out of a fantasy novel…or a video game even." she said "But…back to what you said earlier. You said you were investigating the disappearance of your friends and you somehow wound up inside the companion Hollow just outside Belobog Industries?" Paimon glanced her way.
"Yep. But…don't worry. Our friends are here too. We're planning to meet up later and find our way back home." Paimon said "In the meantime, Paimon's going to try as much local goodies as she can possibly stomach! That ramen REALLY was what Paimon needed!" Aether lightly chuckled.
"THIS is Paimon's default emotion, hungry for tasty treats. She's like taking care of a pet dog." he teased. Paimon scoffed, not taking his words lightly.
"Paimon is Paimon! And whaddya mean I'm like "taking care of" like a dog?!" she proclaimed. General Chop started laughing.
"Something tells me you two are extremely close. Those who bicker the way you do have something special…just like when I see these two banter back and forth." he said. Wise and Belle quickly blushed.
"G-General Chop.." Wise muttered.
"You…didn't have to go there." Belle added. But this only made Chop laugh more.
"Y'know. If you and Paimon are interested, you should go check out their video rental store. It's right next door." he continued, hinting to the building next door with the sign "Random Play" above the doors.
"A…video rental store?" Paimon asked.
"Yeah. In New Eridu, everybody watches most media on video tapes. It's something that was salvaged from the old Eridu before New Eridu was built." Wise explained "We could show you two around if you've got the time." Aether noded firmly.
"If it's to thank you for the food, count us in." he said.
~ Inside Random Play ~
Paimon and Aether followed the siblings into their video store, the number of tapes on display stands and other decorational knick knacks blowing their minds. At the desk, where Belle scooted to, was one of their Bangboo at the register. It glanced their way before waggling its small arm.
"So these are video tapes then?" Aether asked, plucking one off the rack. But just like with the menu outside Waterfall Soup, neither he or Paimon could read the words.
"Looks like a bunch of mumbo jumbo to Paimon. What's on it?" she asked. Belle chuckled.
"Usually old movies you can't really watch anymore unless you go digging for them. Luckily, my brother and I have so many in stock that we're unmatched in the entire city." she explained "We have so many regulars too…our friends we've made in New Eridu." Zhu Yuan's face then came to mind for the two travelers.
"Oh. Then…by any chance, do you know Officer Zhu Yuan…or Qingyi? Or Seth?" Paimon asked.
"Yes. We're good friends with the officers from PubSec too. Zhu Yuan's really nice and she's helped us out on multiple occasions. She often comes by with Qingyi for routine inspections or to rent a tape to watch with her folks." Wise nodded. Just then, the door to Random Play opened again and in walked the four members of the Cunning Hares. Unfortunately, Nicole didn't notice Aether and wound up bumping into him.
"Ouch! H-Hey! Learn to watch where you're standing, bub!" she proclaimed. But one look at Aether had her frozen, Paimon watching on befuddled.
"Ehhh…Nicole? I think it was more like YOU bumped into HIM." Billy, the tall robot, explained. Nekomata peeked around Anby's side and noticed Paimon, her eyes quickly lighting up before she pounced to hug her.
"Ohh! You're so ADORABLE, nya! And so soft too!" she proclaimed while pressing Paimon against her. Paimon called out for help, but Aether was more surprised by the twin tails on Nekomata.
"Two tails…? Is she like Kirara then? A Yokai?" Aether thought. Paimon managed to squeeze free before floating over to and smacking Aether's cheek, breaking his thought.
"UGH! Some help YOU were! Paimon thought she was going to be cat food and you ignored Paimon?!" she exclaimed. Aether quickly apologized, pointing out Nekomata's tails to her, causing Paimon to gasp.
"No way! You have two tails too! Just like Kirara! Are you a Yokai?" Paimon asked. Nekomata stared on, baffled by their words as much as the others, while Anby began to ponder.
"Nekomata…is a yokai? A Japanese inspired ghost that roams New Eridu's streets…like in that one movie?" she muttered. She was muttering loud enough for the ohers to hear her.
"Nyah! Anby! I am NOT a Yokai! I'm NOT a ghost or anything like that!" she yelled with tails standing straight up. Billy started to laugh.
"Yeah! She's the cutest little kitty cat the Cunning Hares could EVER have asked for!" Billy proclaimed "Ain't that right, Nekomata?" The girls glared at Billy with looks of distain, Nicole sighing.
"Ignore him. He's got so many broken down parts that I'm fairly certain his metallic BRAIN is next." she explained, Billy gasping, before looking over Aether "But you…on the other hand…wow. Aren't you the looker? Where'd you come from? The Outer Ring or something?" Paimon shook her head.
"Nope. We came from our own world…before getting sucked into a "Hollow"." she explained. Aether then introduced himself and Paimon. But the Cunning Hares were not believing anything from their mouths.
"Uhh…you came from another world? Pfft. Yeah right. And I'M the next CEO of all New Eridu. Really? You think you can get away with weak lines like THAT?" she asked, flashing a smirk. Paimon sighed.
"Oh goodie. You somehow just reminded Paimon of Dori." she said "Does that mean you're a black market dealer too?" Nicole scoffed while the others lightly snickered before her gaze silenced them.
"No. These are the Cunning Hares. They're old friends of ours and we've worked with them before. They're an odd job agency…that happens to owe us Dennies for our services." Wise explained, making Nicole scoff again.
"Hey! Stop trying to make us look like a bunch of beggars! We've kept up with our debts as of late!" she proclaimed. Paimon grinned.
"Ohh…Paimon gets it now. You're more like Bull Chucker and his flat broke goons. Paimon gets it." she retorted with arms crossed. Belle couldn't help but laugh.
"They're telling the truth, Nicole. Fairy recently told us there was a spacial distortion flux coming from a Hollow near Belobog and, well, Officer Zhu Yuan was dispatched to investigate. They know her and her squadmates too." she explained. Aether approached the desk and reached into his pocket, pulling out a Mora coin of their world. Wise did the same except he pulled out a Denny.
"So…this is what you were referring to as Mora?" Wise asked.
"Yep. We've got plenty of that. But…it's not like anyone here in New Eridu takes them, I suppose." Aether replied. From over his shoulder, Anby and Billy eyed the coins.
"Whoa. What's up with that coin? It looks like something you'd see in ancient relic shops or in an old temple." he asked. Anby nodded before, without looking away, stopped Nicole's hand from pickpocketing them both.
"So this means…Teyvat exists?" Nekomata asked.
"Yep. If we could, Paimon knows we could show you a good time. But…we don't know how to find our way back yet." Paimon explained.
"In that case, would you like us to help? We happen to know specialists who can help you find your way home if it involves a Hollow." Wise offered, hinting to their identities as Phaethon. Aether paused briefly.
"We'd probably have to get together with our friends first. We're all planning to find a place to stay in Lumina Square later." he explained. Nicole begun to shake her head, grabbing Aether's attention with her hand on his shoulder.
"Uhhh…one street kid to another…Lumina Square is the LAST place you'd want to crash for the night. Most of the hotels there are high priced and low quality at the same time. They'd be robbing you and your friends blind." she explained "Why not have us, the Cunning Hares, help find you the perfect spot instead? All it'd cost are a few of those Mora you have." Wise and Belle simultaneously sighed.
TO BE CONTINUED…