A Soul Reaping Lightbearer
All rights reserved to Shirtaloon, Tite Kubo, Bungie and Will Wight.
Chapter 8: Training & The Pits
"As you hopefully recall," Kaname lectured, "there are three elements to improving your abilities."
"I'm pretty sure the middle was to eat a delicious sandwich," Jason joked joyfully.
"Could you take this at least a little seriously?" Kaname pleading asked.
"I always take training seriously, at least the actual training parts. The long boring, and often redundant lectures on theory... not as much. Though, I do find it hard to take magic kung fu seriously."
Jason had rented a suite on the same floor as the others, right across the hall. It was smaller, or, more accurately, less large. Being on the other side of the building, it didn't have the same ocean view, and he spent much of his time in their suite. They were having iced tea out on the balcony, overlooking the ocean.
"There's nothing wrong with having some fun along the way," Gary chimed in. "As long as the work gets done, why be so serious about everything?"
"He says that sipping iced tea on a balcony," Farrah pointedly stated. "He turns into a slave driver once the training starts."
"Even I think it's a bit much," Kaname agreed.
"No, you don't," Gary countered.
"No," Kaname conceded with a malicious grin. "I don't."
"What's kung fu?" Farrah asked. "I don't think your ability translated it."
"It means a skill developed through discipline and hard work," Jason clarified. "Anything can be kung fu if you're diligent about it."
"Actually," Kaname approved, "that's a good attitude."
"See?" Gary said. "You're not at Very Serious Academy now, Kaname. Hard work is easier to get through if you find a way to enjoy it."
"Gary may have fun, but you probably won't," Farrah warned Jason. "Don't get too carried away, Gary."
"When do I ever get carried away?" Gary asked.
"Remember Angelina?" Kaname countered.
"Are you ever going to let that go?" Gary groaned. "How was I meant to know she was evil?"
"The first time we met her she tried to sell us poison," Farrah answered. "We were in a church. And not one of the bad ones."
"I think we should keep our attention on the task at hand," Kaname took control of the conversation. "Tomorrow we'll do everything together, just for the first day. After that, we'll split up. You won't be able to keep up with us when we're pushing ourselves. Gary will be in charge of your basic physical training, I'll be working on your combat skills, and Farrah will continue with your aura manipulation and mental training."
"We had to go out so as to finish selling off the loot we got from the Vane Estate," Gary took over, "but normally we'll begin bright and early. For the first week, I'm just going to run you until you can't run anymore."
"I figured it would be something like that," Jason replied. "I was thinking we could run over the bridge and into the Old City."
Gary looked over at Kaname, who shrugged.
"Works for me," Gary agreed. "Doesn't really matter where you run to, as long as you run."
All four of them ran from their lodgings to the bridge in the early light. They weren't the only ones out, with others also running on the Island's wide, well-paved streets.
"Adventurers?" Jason hazards a guess.
"Those are the good ones," Kaname pointed out. "As with most things, the best results come through diligent effort."
"On the other hand," Farrah countered, "if you use monster cores to advance, you get to sleep in."
"Don't tempt him into bad habits," Kaname scolded. "It's bad enough he can advance with monster cores and the proper way."
There was very little early-hours traffic on the Island, although some tradesfolk were making their way with carts and wagons. These, like the expensive carriages Jason had seen, were propelled by magic rather than pulled by animals.
"Not allowed to have drawn vehicles on the Island," Kaname explained. "Makes it more expensive for working people, but they make up for it in prices. On the Island you'll pay twice, maybe three times the price you would for the same thing in Old City."
At the bridge, they had to show their access permits. The lodgings Jason took up with the others earned him a temporary residence permit for the Island. The guard checking their permits turned out to be a familiar face.
"Bertram, right?" Jason asked.
"You can call me Bert," Bertram replied. "You met my brother at the Adventure Society?"
"He helped me with my adventure registration."
Once they had crossed the bridge, the streets of Old City were considerably busier. The four stood out, weaving through teamsters and merchants as they maintained a running pace.
By the time they reached their destination, Jason had worked up a sweat, but only a light sheen and slightly increased rate of breathing. He'd thankfully been getting back into shape over the past year which included long runs so it barely bothered him. But the others looked like they just took a short walk down the street.
Though Gary noticed and pointed it out, "You seemed to have taken that run well. I'll have up the routine for your morning runs."
"Sure," Jason responded nonplused. "I'm already back towards using parkour for my usual morning runs back home."
"Parkour?" Farrah wondered with a raised eyebrow.
Jason explained, "It's a type of martial art that includes running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping and rolling through obstacle courses or a city. I tend to run through more urban areas going up fire escapes and hopping across rooftops."
Gary grinned, "Great! That's what we usually do in our morning runs. That'll save us some time. We only ran normally today because I wasn't sure you could handle it."
"Uh oh," Farrah chuckled, "Gary's excited about training. You're going to regret telling him that Jason."
"Broadstreet Clinic," Kaname read out loud, looking at the sign above the door and ignoring the others' byplay. "Shouldn't Broad Street be two words?"
"One word," Jason explained. "It's the actual name of the street."
"It's called Broadstreet Street?" Gary asked incredulously.
"Broadstreet Boulevard," Jason corrected. "How am I telling you this? You've all spent much more time in this city than me."
"We don't spend a lot of time in Old City," Farrah answered. "The Island is just nicer."
"You know someone here?" Kaname asked, nodding at the clinic doors.
"Met him on my way into the city," Jason explained as he wiped the sweat from his brow and walked through the doors, the others following after. Inside was a waiting room crowded with people and a reception desk with a young woman sitting behind it. Jason leaned onto the desk, getting the woman's attention.
"Sir, if you require emergency treatment-"
"I'm Jason Asano. Jory's expecting me."
"Ah, right," the woman replied in that mixed joyful yet blain manner all receptionists use. "He'll be with you shortly Mr. Asano. He's currently with a pa-"
Said Jory, the alchemist Jason had entered the city with, emerged from the back room at that very moment, cutting her off. He was escorting an elderly lady out who was carrying a small bag.
"Now, only take the medicine right before bed," Jory instructed.
"So, I should take it with dinner?" the lady asked.
"No, you'll pass out at the table. Right before bed. Seriously, right before you climb into bed."
"So, when I sit down for my evening wine..."
"No, right before bed."
"Would it be easier if I took it during the day?" she asked.
"I'm going to take that, for a moment," Jory declared, retrieving the small bag from the lady.
Jory spotted an amused Jason, giving him an odd look as he passed, leading the woman to a middle-aged man quietly waiting in one of the seats. Jason couldn't hear them talk, although he did hear the man say something about dinner as Jory's arm, held rigidly at his side, clenched into a fist.
Soon after, the pair were on their way and Jory came over to Jason.
"You showed up then," Jory stated.
"Yeah," Jason replied. "These are my friends, by the way. Gary, Farrah, Kaname. Meet Jory."
"This is a medical clinic?" Gary asked in confusion. "Just alchemy?"
"So far," Jory responded unoffended. "I met Jason the other day and he offered to help out."
Jory led Jason into the back room, then started bringing patients in, one after the other. For each one, Jason chanted out his spell.
"From the cleansing fires, the ash satisfies my hunger."
Jason used his Radiant Feast power to remove their diseases, along with a few toxins like alcohol, which registered to his ability as a poison.
"That's a good cleansing ability," Gary observed between patients. "Good way to practice it, too. It really gives you stamina back?"
"Mana too," Jason informed. "Can't use it on myself though."
"I knew there had to be a pretty rough restriction, with a power that good," Gary commented.
With each patient, Jason's mana and stamina were replenished, until he was back at full strength. Not that his stamina was very low, but it keeps his mana up despite its continued usage with every spell. So, his mana was still full.
"You alright?" Gary asked. "You look fresh, but a bit down."
"It's just..." Jason sighed. "My world doesn't have magic. We don't have a way to get rid of some of the diseases I've just casually removed from people today. I cured a dozen people of cancer. Do you know what cancer does to a person?"
"Er, no," Gary drew out.
"Exactly. I think about what I can do when I take this power home with me." Jason's voice became a quiet mumble, "Who I could have saved if I had this power in my world."
{Guardian,} Gordon mentally spoke in his mind softly, {It won't do you any good to dwell on what can't be changed.}
Jason shook himself out of it and looked at the three adventurers.
"You ready to get back to it?" Kaname asked. "There's a lot you need to learn."
"If we're done here," Jason replied.
"You are," Jory supplied. "We've run out of sick people. There'll be more tomorrow, once word starts getting around, you're doing this for free."
"Not a problem," Gary responded. "I'll be dragging him along every morning."
Kaname and an exhausted Jason -due to his loudmouth informing Gary of his parkour skills they had went from running to full Ninja Warrior routine- stood in a training field on the Adventure Society campus. At least Kaname was standing, with Jason sprawled out on the grass as their version of parkour was next-level and left Jason physically spent. At least the others actually worked up a sweat this time. Farrah was nearby, leaning against a tree as she read a book. There were other people around, sparring or practicing martial arts forms. Gary had wandered off and was sparring against a pair of locals.
"I don't suppose there's a bunch of sick people around?" Jason asked, too weary to stand. He'd have been hard pressed to compete with Gary, Farrah and Kaname even at his prime. They were physical monsters that his world's greatest Olympians couldn't hope to match.
"Afraid not," Kaname chuckled out.
"Should I eat a spirit coin?" Jason asked.
"No," Kaname answered, dashing Jason's hopes. "Replenishing yourself is good when you need to keep pushing, but you also need to let your body restore itself naturally. Your recovery attribute needs training, just as much as your speed, power and spirit."
"Make sense," Jason replied as he kept working on leveling out his breathing. "I don't feel ready to learn monster fighting martial arts right now."
He'd at first argued about learning martial arts from Kaname as he was already proficient in mixed martial arts, but he was turned around to the idea when Kaname asked if his hand-to-hand skills were created to handle monsters. Jason had to concede that his military training didn't include how to take down giant spiders, shabs, or elementals at all, let alone barehanded.
"You're not," Kaname agreed. "Actual technique you can pick up from a skill book."
"I can?" Jason asked, raising his head. "Great. Let's do that."
"Not yet. At my family's academy-"
"Drink," Jason merrily interrupted with his hand raised as if holding an invisible glass.
"What?"
"I've come up with a drinking game," Jason explained. "Every time you say, 'my family's academy,' everyone has to take a drink."
Farrah burst out laughing as Jason muttered to himself, "Need to work on that fruit punch recipe for those mixed drinks."
"Is this the 'fun' you were talking about?" Kaname asked, disapproval wrinkling his brow.
"Sorry," Jason said as he got to his feet. He dropped to a half-crouch, hands on his knees. "I don't miss the working till I vomit feeling... ugg."
"Good," Kaname exclaimed a little to cheerfully. "It means you've been pushing yourself hard enough. At my family's academy..."
Kaname glared at Farrah, who was looking innocently off into the distance.
"...we have been refining methods of combat training for centuries, including training with skill books."
"Not that I'm against pushing myself," Jason argued, "I understand how it's needed to improve but isn't the whole point of skill books is to just use them and you're good?"
"It isn't that simple," Kaname admonished. "For a practice that is knowledge-based, that is more or less true."
"No, it isn't," Farrah chimed in with a disapproving tone. "Knowing isn't the same as understanding. You've used a ritual magic skill book, but knowing practical application isn't the same as grasping the theory."
"There's a similar issue with physical skills," Kaname agreed," but even more exaggerated. The mind might know what to do, but the body still has to learn. First, I will teach you to be receptive to the skills you will learn. How to stand, how to move."
"A solid house needs a solid foundation," Jason stated matter-of-factly.
"Exactly," Kaname said happily. "I'm glad you understand. Learning to fight through skill books is ultimately faster than training from nothing because you save yourself years of repetition to ingrain the skills. There is a danger, however, of not fully comprehending the techniques. By preparing well before using a skill book, then consolidating well after, you avoid developing flaws in your skillset."
"Plus, there's a massive gap between learning technique and learning how to fight," Jason added.
"Your prior experience must have taught you that lesson," Kaname commented. "At least where fighting non-magical humans are concerned. It's the first thing we have to beat out of skill book users at my family's academy."
Kaname pressed his lips thinly together as he heard a snort of choked off laughter. Flashing a glare at Farrah, he let out a weary sigh.
"Seeing as you have prior martial arts training," Kaname said to Jason, "let's see what I have to work with. Ready yourself." Kaname went into a ready stance that was unfamiliar to Jason.
Jason had joined Farrah in reclining against a tree, enjoying the enhanced healing from Gordon and his Siva nanites as it eased the pain of his bruises. Even though Kaname' hand-to-hand skills paled in comparison to his swordsmanship he'd still beat Jason into the ground. It was reminiscent to karate and jujitsu but different. More lethal perhaps and with moves he'd never seen before.
At least the ones he'd managed to see as Kaname even taking it easy was too fast for him.
Gary was still sparring against all comers, currently going one against three. Kaname had sat down to meditate with his own considerably less severe bruises, that were already fading from his superior bronze body's regenerative abilities. Jason may have lost but still gave as good as he got, surprising Kaname with his level of combat capabilities.
Until Kaname got serious and moved so fast and hit so hard that Jason could only curl up into a ball and wait to lose consciousness. Kaname had to reevaluate Jason's training regimen going forward which hopefully didn't include unleashing his full bronze ranked attributes again.
"You did well against Kaname," Farrah told Jason. "I was amazed at how well you fought against him, but don't let that go to your head. Kaname was holding back most of his bronze strength and essence users will mix in their magical abilities in a fight."
"Like spraying lava into someone's face mid punch," Jason supplied.
"Yes, like that," Farrah chuckled out. "If you fought Kaname seriously, he'd have used his abilities to increase his speed to such a degree that time would have stood still to him and proceed to slice you into pieces before you realized he moved. So, you still have a lot to learn about being an essence user, but you can scratch hand-to-hand combat off that list... for the most part. We haven't seen how you fight monsters bare-handed."
Jason nervously chuckled at the prospect of Kaname cutting him down with his sword in an instant, too helpless to stop it. "Okay, I get it, I still have a long way to go but I did tell you guys I knew how to fight."
"You did," Farrah admitted. "You're surprisingly more capable than we initially believed and we're adjusting our original plans. Gary's happy to move at a faster pace but Kaname is a bit thrown off. You are nothing like the students at his academy."
"Is his school actually that big a deal?"
"It really is," Farrah states matter-of-factly. "Kings and queens have studied there. Some of the best adventures in the world, too."
"Did you and Gary train there?"
"Definitely not. Our origins are a bit too humble for that. We all met on the job."
"Right," Jason remembered. "The zombies."
"We worked together well, and I think Kaname's grandfather quietly pushed things along. Kaname puts more pressure on himself than anyone else does, and I think his grandfather was hoping we would lighten him up."
"How's that going?" Jason asked.
"You should have seen him when we first met," she explained. "He was like a string that was constantly pulled taut. It was only a matter of time before he was going to snap."
She looked around, with a smile. "Coming out here has been good for him. Getting away from everything."
"But he blames himself for you getting captured."
"Mistakes are inevitable," Farrah replied, "but it was good they happened so far from home. He doesn't have to feel like people are looking over his shoulder as he makes them."
Farrah was wearing the loose, draped clothes in the local style, including a long, coat-robe that made her look a bit like a Jedi. She reached into it and pulled out an awakening stone that she tossed casually to Jason. It was like red glass, with swirling energy that looked like it burst when they collided. It was warm to the touch in his hand.
Item: [Awakening Stone of Eruption] (unranked, epic)
An awakening stone containing the power of explosive force (consumable, awakening stone).
Requirements: Unawakened essence ability.
Effect: Awakens an essence ability.
You have 1 unawakened essence abilities.
You are able to absorb [Awakening Stone of Eruption].
Absorb Y/N?
"What's this for?" Jason asked.
"We haven't forgotten that you saved us back in that ritual chamber," Farrah explained. "We've each gotten you a gift, something to help you start your adventuring life."
"You saved me too. Even if I'd gotten away, I probably would have died in that desert." Jason tried to wave away her gratitude.
"Maybe but saving us took courage and heroics. Saving you took basic sense of direction. Use the stone; it wasn't easy to find."
"High rarity stones tend to be more specialized, right?"
"That's right."
"This one is epic. What are you expecting me to get?"
"With luck, an explosive fire blast of some kind," Farrah answered. "With your last unawakened essence ability being solar, which has fiery properties the chances are good. I had a similar stone that gave me my lava cannon."
"Awesome."
The stone sank into his hand.
You have awakened the solar ability [Senju Koten Taiho].
You have awakened 5 of 5 solar essence abilities.
You have awakened all solar essence abilities. Linked attribute [Recovery] will advance in conjunction with lowest-rank solar essence ability.
Ability: [Senju Koten Taiho] (solar)
Ability type: Spell.
Cost: Extreme mana.
Cooldown: 12 hours.
Incantation: "Limit of the thousand hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired."
Effect (iron): Generate ten points of highly condensed fire energy around yourself and fire them all at a designated target, resulting in an exceedingly devastating explosion.
"Damn..." Jason whistled.
"Did it work?" Farrah asked impatiently.
"Yup, but the incantation is beyond long. Like a short story long," Jason answered. "How am I supposed to chant all that in the middle of combat and not get taken out immediately?"
"Ingenuity, for one," Farrah supplied, "and a good team to help you set it up."
After finding out Jory had an unused courtyard behind his clinic, Kaname moved the daily training there. It was really just a walled-in dirt yard but was sufficient for their needs. The day would begin with Gary, who would have them free running over rooftops, the streets and alleys of Old City to Jory's clinic. After replenishing his stamina by cleansing the sickness from Jory's patients, Jason was ready for more physical training.
The approach to physical training was startling in its familiarity. Farrah had left a set of barbells from her magical chest in Jory's yard, covered with a tarp. Gary would alternate between strength training with weights and more agility-based training, leading Jason through very similar flexibility exercises.
While instructing Jason, the normally relaxed Gary became a harsh task master, brooking not even the slightest amount of slack. It was very reminiscent to his old drill sergeant's attitude; thus, Jason had no complaints and smoothly went through the whole physical conditioning routine with practiced ease.
"When your speed attribute reaches bronze," Gary lectured, "you'll be faster than you ever were before. If you don't know how to use that speed, that agility, those reflexes, then you will die to someone that does."
"I've been using those efficiently and with perfect precision for years," Jason argued. "Admittedly, I've become a bit rusty."
Gary chuckled as he remembered the time Jason fell from a rooftop and had to pay for the crushed contents of a fruit cart. Jason also apologized to, yet another member of the Bert family called Herbert. 'Bert' as he and his many brothers preferred to be called, had been plenty happy, going on how he'd sold a full cartload of fruit when there was barely any daylight out yet. An early end to a full day's work.
"You're definitely ahead of the curb from most fresh iron-rankers," Gary agreed, "and have a solid grasp on your body's current attributes. But every time you rank-up all your physical abilities jump-up exponentially and you'll have to retrain on how to properly grasp them. Keeping up this routine and repeatedly increasing its level of difficulty as you go will help prepare you for that, and ease that transition of power."
Once Gary was done with him, Jason would replenish himself again with clinic patients. Word of Jason's free healing started getting around, so there were always people waiting each time he arrived. By the time he cleared out the patients, Kaname would arrive for more training.
Training was more of an understatement as they mostly just sparred with ever increasing intensity. Kaname showing just a little more speed, strength and agility every day to push Jason and work off the rust in his own fighting skills. It wasn't long before Jason was back to his peak shape and pushing that state even further. Kaname had told Jason that he was working on getting a better skill book for him than what the local area had and to just be patient until he figured something out.
In the afternoons, Farrah would take over. This was the part of his training regimen Jason enjoyed the most. Gary and Kaname's instruction were classic montage material he'd long gotten accustomed to, while Farrah's training was something altogether different.
The spirit attribute, Jason learned, governed not just magic strength, but also perception. Farrah subjected Jason to an array of often familiar and interesting memory games with cards, or she would make him taste-test things while blindfolded.
"I have no idea what you just put in my mouth," Jason commented, "but you need to tell me what it was. I want to try baking it in a pie."
Some perception exercises trained observation and memory skills. Jason blew through them with ease as he'd trained to do such things years ago and they became habit even after service. Things like watching people go past Jory's clinic, with Jason memorizing everything he could as fast as he could. He would then close his eyes as Farrah tested him. Other times -with more interest- she would have him read from the Magic Society's monster records, collected on a magical tablet. She gave him only a short time to read, testing his comprehension afterwards. It rarely ever tripped him up.
The second aspect of Farrah's training was meditation. Jason already had some experience in as he'd already practiced it for years and Farrah had been guiding him in his aura control. Which was what they ended on. She'd often leave him to meditate and practice his aura control on his own.
One next day Farrah had brought a bunch of strange magical devises for the examination. She must have been afraid that Jason would have backed out his deal. But that was never a concern as Jason always kept his word when given in good faith. Besides, the promised lunch was fantastic at a local restaurant on the Island, nothing that could be misconstrued as romantic, but expensive -like everything on the Island.
He now had a list of new recipes he'd work on later.
Jason was happy when she left that day bubbling over with joy and excitement. He'd let her examine even his racial gifts, finding out that all she had to do was ask while in his party and him consenting and she be able to see the prompts explaining his abilities. Farrah had gushed on how she'd be writing up a new paper on magical theory thanks to the things she'd learned from the examination. Jason wasn't sure how he felt about that becoming public knowledge as he didn't like potential enemies having an edge on him, but he enjoyed seeing Farrah so happy.
Jason threw himself into training. From early mornings with Gary on the most epic parkour run ever to afternoons with Farrah -his favorite part of each day. Farrah would on occasion bring certain items so they could be identified with his ability and record the results. He'd simply let her stay the party until he was ready to go to sleep after she'd kept pulling things out to identify for three hours straight. That way she can just identify things on her own time and not when she was supposed to be training him.
Every afternoon, when his training with others was done, he would make his way to the balcony of his personal suite. Every day he would practice getting control of his electromagnetic sight power. He'd have Gordon exit his body and look at things. Focusing on keeping the basic setting of normal vision.
Peering at anything and everything while keeping that state.
His personal suite wasn't on the ocean side of the building, so his balcony instead overlooked one of the guild district's wide boulevards. Sitting cross-legged in the shadow of the awning, he would look at every building, alley and passerby for hours on end. As time went on, he became capable of consciously shifting to x-ray and infrared.
As the days rolled on, his aura control and vision power grew familiar to him.
"You picked the basics of aura manipulation up quickly," Farrah told Jason. "You're slow and somewhat crude with it, but that's to be expected. The only way to smooth the rough edges is with experience. There's no substitute for practice."
Jason nodded. They were in Jory's yard, sitting face-to-face on meditation mats.
"Now that you have a grasp of the fundamentals," Farrah continued to lecture, "it's time to show you the last aspect of aura manipulation."
"I didn't think it would be this quick."
"The basics of aura manipulation are exactly that. Like all essence abilities, there's an instinctive understanding. The real difference between the capable and the incompetent is keeping up the practice. Practice is the only real secret to mastery."
"No shortcuts."
"No shortcuts," Farrah agreed. "Now we're moving on to the third aspect of aura manipulation. You can perform projection and restraint to acceptable levels, so next comes suppression. Like the other aspects, the description is right there in the name: you use your aura to suppress the auras of others. It really only works against people weaker than you, but it can be useful when you need to show dominance."
"Alright."
"This is a little trickier to pick up," Farrah explained, "because there isn't anyone weaker than you to practice on. Even normal people won't be far below your aura strength until your spirit attribute gets stronger. At this point I'm really just showing you, rather than teaching you. It's something you need to know about, if only to be prepared when others use it on you."
"So, you're going to suppress my aura?" Jason asked. "Let me get a feel for it?"
"Exactly," Farrah replied. "It can be a disconcerting experience, so it's best you learn what you're in for."
"Alright," Jason agreed, nonplused. "Hit me."
"Here I go," Farrah warned.
She expanded her aura, clamping onto Jason's and suppressing it, pushing it forcefully into his body. The strength of his aura was greater than what she expected to see from a new iron-ranker. It felt like a physical force with the feel of an imposing bulwark, worn and scarred by prolonged and repeated attacks but still held strong like an old majestic fortress. It felt unyielding and if he had a solid grasp on his aura manipulation and decent progress to his spirit attribute, she might not have succeeded in suppressing it.
The physical feel of his aura could be explained away as his gestalt nature of physical mass and spirit. But not the feeling behind it.
Jason had repeatedly mentioned that he has been through a lot and had real combat experience. It must have been something truly life defining to leave an imprint on his aura, which wasn't all that surprising since he had a soul scar. Even so, they'd all underestimated what Jason's experiences were as his world had no monsters, essence users or any type of real magic.
Now that she could feel his aura fully, Farrah had known they'd been wrong. Jason wasn't powerful by this world's standards, but he had a will of steel that any seasoned adventurer, no matter their rank would be proud to have.
Farrah shook it off and returned to focusing on the task at hand. She looked at Jason, watching for reactions to having his aura suppressed. He flinched like he'd been unexpectedly touched and then pulled out a small paper bag, popping a few glazed nuts into his mouth.
"Is that it," he asked unaffected.
"Um, yes. You are feeling that, right?"
"Yep," he answered, holding out the bag. "Want some? I don't know what they put on these nuts, but it's really good."
With a confused expression, Farrah reached out and took a couple of nuts from the bag.
"They are good," she agreed. She looked at Jason, still under the effect of her aura suppression. "Are you alright?"
"It's a feeling I'm accustomed to... Though, it did feel like a heavy blanket had been thrown on me. Like I was being pressed in on all sides."
Gordon slipped out of Jason in a stream of red, black and white light to condense into his floating techno-eyeball. "That's because your soul is physical now and aura is the reflection of your soul."
"That's interesting," Farrah mused. "It'd make aura suppression more affective as it could physically bind you if the gap in aura strength is large enough."
"Wait, are you saying some silver ranker could paralyze me with just their aura?" Jason asked.
"As you are right now, yes," she answered simply. "But that's not unheard of for normal essence users when much higher ranked individuals suppress their aura. On those instances it has more to do with the sudden, uncomfortable feeling that causes them to freeze up, creating in opening to exploit. Once your control and strength are strong enough, you should be able to endure it and push back."
"Gold and diamond rankers with skilled aura manipulation can completely immobilize you until you reach silver," Gordon clarified. "At most, those of lower ranks can just slow you down until you become a deft hand at aura manipulation."
"That makes mastering aura manipulation all the more important," Jason replied with a hard edge.
"What confuses me is how you reacted. Most people find having their aura suppressed to be supremely unnerving," Farrah iterated. "It leaves them feeling vulnerable and exposed."
"Yeah, I noticed that."
"And you're used to that feeling?"
"Yup. It's practically a normal feeling to me," Jason explained. "I arrived in this world with no idea where I was, how I got there or why. I was literally trapped in a maze, naked, fighting monsters and dodging cannibals. If I hadn't had similar experiences in my life -minus the monsters and magic- I'd be a complete wreck."
He let out a low chuckle.
"That day wasn't even close to the worst day of my life," he explained. "I have gone through plenty of terrible things back in my world. Torture, nearly dying more times than I like to admit, and loss... Losing friends and family hurt a lot more than any physical injury I have ever endured."
Jason went quiet as he thought on if he should tell Farrah the whole truth.
"I lost... someone very important to me," Jason started. "I wasn't there for them as much as I should have, away on deployment. Uh... Adventurer like work taking down criminal groups like the Blood Cult and rescuing high profile people. I was good at it, and I enjoyed my work. More than going back home to spend time with my family."
"I understand that," Farrah replied. "All serious adventurers do. The action, adventure and power are thrilling and what we left behind is often forgotten for long periods of time. I don't speak with my parents as much as I like, and it's been years since I last saw them."
Jason nodded his head, "Yeah. I had a team, and we lost several members over the years as there's no magic healing. Sometimes a stab or cut to right place can lead to a person's death before being able to get them the help needed to save them."
He showed her the underside of his left forearm to show four names with serial numbers inside dog tags. "These are the soldiers, friends I've lost under my command over the years."
She became somber, looking at the rounded rectangular shapes with lettering she couldn't read but could easily guess their meaning.
"But it was the loss back home..." Jason lost himself to the memories of watching his son withering away. The desperate search for experimental medical treatments or drug trials only to end in failure or rejection.
{Jason,} Gordon soothingly spoke inside his head, not needing to be inside him to talk into his mind.
The shock of his Ghost not calling him guardian broke him out of the dark memories and returned to the concerned looking Farrah.
"I quit, left the service out of guilt and unwilling to see anymore death," Jason continued. "I tried burying myself in alcohol and sex, but it didn't work. I was lost with no purpose and was just trudging along, unfeeling. Despite the oddities and circumstances I found myself in upon arriving in this world, I feel alive again. Like I have purpose."
Farrah smiled, "Good."
"Those experiences, as horrible as they were, has made me more resilient overall and a little discomfort won't bother me. But that isn't entirely why I'm used to feeling vulnerable and exposed."
"Huh?"
Jason chuckled as he explained, "Ever since I came to this world, the more I learn, the more I realize that everything I knew or believed was either woefully incomplete or flat-out wrong. I'm not afraid to die, it's something that can happen to anyone at any time. A fact of life. But with magic, monsters and gods it makes me feel like I've been dragged into circumstances in which I am both impotent and insignificant. I have precious-little understanding of the world around me, and even less control. I've been living with that for every waking moment since I arrived here. So, you making me feel vulnerable is like throwing sand on the beach. I only noticed the changes because I watched you do it."
"I can see it being a large adjustment," Farrah commented. "But you've said that you've been captured and tortured in your world. Surely, that's no different than what happened here."
"Your right, it isn't but I'm used to being able to handle myself and be in control of what happens to me. Here, there are beings so powerful that they can kill me and everything I love with a hand gesture."
Farrah opened her mouth to say that was normal and would only happen if you angered the wrong kind of people but held her tongue at Jason's raised hand.
"I know that as long as I keep my head down and slowly grow my power, I'll be fine. There are probably laws that'd keep some spoiled bronze ranker from a powerful family from outright killing me for not bowing or something. But systems are always flawed. There are people that abuse the systems built to help people for their own gain. Even if it is something that has the backing of a diamond ranker or a god, they can't be aware of everything that happens within it."
"Gods are aware of everything their followers do," she declared as an immutable fact.
"Yet the Healer sits by and lets his followers abuse their power and not heal poor people. Don't get me wrong, I prefer a god that allows his people autonomy but there should be some accountability and oversight."
"That's... a fair point but don't go around saying that. A god might have one of their followers punish you."
"That's my point!" Jason let out in frustration. "In my world, you can say things without fear of being attacked by gods or walking nuclear warheads. Armed soldiers, feral animals, and even hostile governments are things I can handle but what do I do about a silver ranker that wants me dead. The fact is there is an actual level of strength that I can't protect myself from. I'm an iron rank individual filled in a world where that's the bottom of the totem pole- I mean power scale."
"Then get stronger," Farrah supplied. "We'll help you get there."
Jason sighed, "I know and that's why I'm throwing myself into training, but in my world, I don't have to worry about an argument with someone of greater standing ending with them killing me right on the spot. Even rulers of nations can't just wave their hand at me, and I'm turned into a splatter on the wall. I can prepare, have contingencies and fight my way free. Here, they can because no matter what I -an iron ranker- do, I can't stop a silver ranker, let alone someone even stronger. So, it feels like I'm caged in. Helpless to the world around me."
"Then, what can I do to help?"
"I don't know. It'll just take time for me to get used to the new status quo of this world."
One of the luxuries of the suite Farrah shared with Kaname and Gary was the balcony terrace overlooking the ocean. There was enough outdoor furniture to serve as a private dining area, so Farrah carried a large tray of food from the dumbwaiter out to the table where Kaname and Gary were already seated.
"What about Jason?" Gary asked.
"Still working on his aura and vision power," Farrah explained as she sat down.
"I like to see the dedication," Kaname chimed in. "He has a long way to go and that shows promise for his future."
"We have overlooked some of what he's going through," Farrah said.
"Really?" Gary asked. "It seems like he is doing fine."
"He does throw himself into things like he's looking for a distraction," Kaname added. "You were going to suppress his aura today, right? Did he react badly?"
"He didn't react at all," Farrah explained. "Working for the Magic Society, I've taught a lot of people to use their auras, but I've never seen that before."
"I'm not surprised," Kaname replied. "Jason's not like any fresh essence user we've met or taught before. He's more like an experienced adventurer in attitude just with the power of a new iron ranker. Considering what he's told me; aura suppression wouldn't affect him much."
"Yeah," Farrah agreed. "He told me about it in detail," her face softening with pained understanding.
"Oh, right. He had lost people and gave up for a time," Gary commented. "That happens sometimes, even to the best adventurers."
Farrah was quiet, lost in contemplation at how lost and exposed Jason felt.
"You think there's something else behind it?" Kaname asked.
"He said it doesn't affect him because that's how he feels all the time. He's isolated and alone to a degree that I'm not sure I can get my head around. He feels powerless to control his own life."
"He has us," Gary supplied, "and he'll gain control as he gets stronger."
"But from his perspective," Farrah challenged, "we're another part of the strangeness. We've lived under the reality of gods and diamond rankers that could kill us on a whim. To us, that's just part of everyday life, but for him it's a crushing fact that leaves him in a constant state of vulnerability. We're helping him move forward by readying him to be an adventurer but it's not helping him become comfortable with the realities of our world."
"Have we been pushing him too hard?" Gary asked.
"No," Kaname stated with certainty. "If anything, I suspect the structure we've given him is what's kept him grounded for this long."
"Then what do we do?" Farrah asked.
"What we have been doing," Kaname answered. "The stronger he becomes, the more in control he will feel. You both know what I'm talking about -that feeling of power as your abilities grow. Normally you have to stop people from running off like they're invincible, but Jason already learned that lesson so it should just make him feel more secure."
"I think he'll only start to feel secure once he's an official member of the Adventure Society," Farrah added. "We mostly see the Adventure Society as an opportunity to grow stronger and make connections but it's also the most powerful organization in world. Very few would dare kill an adventurer because of the power that'd come crashing down on their heads."
"That's a valid point," Kaname agreed.
"Maybe we should start showing him around a bit," Gary suggested. "Let him see this world isn't all cultists and monsters. Remember the villages we passed through? He seemed a lot more relaxed around normal people, so maybe a little dose of ordinary is exactly what he needs."
"Are you saying we aren't normal?" Farrah asked, a little insulted.
"I'm normal," Gary answered, nonplused. "You two can be kind of intense."
"It's a good idea," Kaname agreed. "I'll be administering the field testing for the next month's Adventure Society intake. I'll need to start preparing in a few days, and then I'll be gone for a week. Relax the training while I'm gone."
"Done," Gary confirmed.
"Not too much," Kaname emphasized, "but give him time to explore the city. This island is surprisingly impressive for a provincial city."
"If you have the money," Farrah pointed out.
"Which he does," Kaname countered.
"You did give him a cut from the blood cult job, right?" Gary asked. "If it weren't for him, we would have failed and died."
"I did," Kaname answered. "The church of Purity made some noise about the completion bonus, after how things went with Anisa. The contract was through the Adventure Society, though, and the job did get done. They paid up."
"Wait," Gary chimed in. "Did I get a cut? I don't remember getting the money for that."
"Because I gave it to Farrah," Kaname explained. "You know, the person who stores all your money?"
"Oh, yeah."
In the grimy heart of Old City's warehouse district there was a huge stone building called the Fortress. Older even than the city walls, it had been built to last. In the earliest days of the city, it had been where Greenstone's residents would take shelter during a monster surge, but those days were long past. Now it served as Greenstone's largest den of iniquity; its rooms and halls contained all manner of illicit behavior, delights and horrors both.
The city authorities pay little attention to the ongoings in Old City so long as business interests of the city elite remained secure. That made Old City's three biggest crime lords its de facto rulers, who made sure that the Island elites had no reason to look any closer. So long as the money kept flowing, the Big Three were free to divide Old City between them.
The Fortress was neutral ground. It was the one place where the Big Three share operations, dividing both responsibility and profit. It was also the best place in Old City to glimpse the Island elites. Whether to secure their interests or indulge their appetites, they receive only the best of treatment in the Fortress.
Of the many itches one could have scratched in the Fortress, the fighting pits offered the greatest spectacle. Some were literal pits, others cages. At night, even adventurers could be found battling it out inside. Some sought challenge, others to pay off debts for their own costly indulgences. Some decided a life fighting monsters wasn't for them and sought to earn a spot working for the Big Three. The top enforcers of the crime lords were paid in not just coin but also monster cores.
Among the seating arrangements at the fighting pits were a number of enclosed viewing rooms with glass fronts. These were more recent additions to the centuries-old building. Some were available to anyone with enough coin, but four were permanently reserved. The Big Three each possessed one of the boxes, where they conduct much of their business. The fourth belonged to the Fortress' most frequent and prestigious patron.
Lucian Lamprey was an elf whose muscular frame was uncommon for his people. Expensive clothes aside, he would not look out of place in the fighting pits himself. He was not a member of the local elf families, instead he had been banished to Greenstone for previous improprieties. He was the director of Greenstone's branch of the Magic Society, a vaunted position within the city, but one for which Lucian holds no respect. They could make him king of the isolated desert city and he would still yearn for what he viewed as true civilization.
The Fortress was Lucian's consolation -a paradise to openly indulge in the vices for which he was sent to Greenstone in the first place. His viewing box was more of an office to him than the one at the Magic Society campus. He even managed to get work done, as the lower card fights rarely drew his attention.
While the pits might operate at all hours, only the essence users of the night fights got Lucian's blood boiling. Magic displays any active fights on the giant window of his viewing box, but in the early afternoon he gave them only an occasional glance. This time of day has single-essence fighters, only escalating to full-blown, iron-rank fights after sundown. Lucian would have preferred to see bronze-rankers as well, but they were too valuable to risk in the pits under any but the rarest of circumstances.
Only a precious few bronze-rankers lower themselves to work for the Big Three, and they were their most valuable assets. If they ever appeared in the pits, it was to settle grudges between the Big Three without spilling blood on the streets. Gang war meant drawing the attention of the Island authorities, which all of the Big Three know to avoid.
Lucian's ability to use the Fortress as his office was largely due to his deputy director. Pochard Finn maintained things at the city campus while frequently travelling to the Fortress himself. He was also an elf and a local. Both elves enjoy the relationship, as Lucian has his workload lightened, while Pochard was the de facto director of Greenstone's Magic Society. They had quickly moved from colleagues to friends as Pochard also came to enjoy the pleasure of the Fortress.
"Standish was looking for you," Pochard informed, pouring himself a glass of wine. He gestured with the bottle invitingly, pouring a second glass at a nod from Lucian.
"Can't you deal with it?" Lucian asked. "He's always up in arms about something."
"He insisted on seeing you. Something about spirit coins, I think."
"Tell him if he wants to see me, he can come here."
"I did," Pochard replied, drawing a snort of laughter from Lucian.
"I would love to see that horned pain the ass in the Fortress," Lucian chuckled, then stared out of the window-wall. "And now I have."
"You're kidding," Pochard said disbelievingly, following Lucian's gaze.
"He actually came," Lucian laughed. "Good for him."
Pochard groaned, "I hope he doesn't make it a regular occurrence."
Lucian chuckled at Pochard's reaction as they watched the large Ziel Standish navigate the fighting pits' viewing stands. It wasn't crowded in the early afternoon, yet the lumbering man in the wildly-out-of-place scholar's robe seemed to get in the way of every person he passed. Finally, he reached the viewing room, opulent in its wooden construction. Lucian and Pochard looked at each other as they heard a slow heavy knock.
"Shove off!" Pochard yelled, prompting a belly-laugh from Lucian.
A deep, bone wary sigh was heard through the door before a, "Director?" The voice had the enthusiasm one might expect from a thousand-year-old corpse. As if it took all his effort to speak the single word.
"Don't just stand out there, Standish!" Lucian bellowed, and the door was slowly pulled open.
Ziel Standish was rather tall with a broad frame, blue skin, unkempt wavy dark hair that went down past his shoulders and two small bright emerald horn coming out of his forehead that slightly bent upwards. He wore voluminous scholarly robes that helped to hide the large frame with corded muscle that resided underneath. Over the colorful robes was a worn grey cloak with a faded symbol on the back that vaguely resembled spread wings.
It had been the symbol of the Dawn Wing Guild that'd once made waves in this backwater region. It'd gotten attention from the prestigious Kurosaki Clan and was set to become a ranking guild in the larger world. Until it'd been purged by the Church of Purity for its numerous half-bred members, like Ziel himself. Some sort of half-human, half-runic hybrid based off the blue skin and runes on his bones that became visible when using mana. Lucian's nose would twist in disgust whenever he saw the creature.
Said monstrosity had actually been the top ranked iron ranker of the region, beating out even the Kurosaki Clan's remarkable children. That'd all been before Lucian's exile to this horrid nowhere place. Ziel had survived the purging but had lost his spirit and had lingered at the high-end of iron rank for over a decade now.
From rising star adventurer to Magic Society functionary. A beaten down dog that just kept wandering about and not having the decency to die. The blank, wary expression constantly on his face and dull eyes said as much. Though, he was knowledgeable and useful, taking up a significant amount of Lucian's workload so, he tolerated Ziel's filthy existence. He wasn't a member of Purity's church after all.
In the fighting pits of the Fortress, Ziel oddly looked as though he belonged. Like the many lower card fighters stuck knowing they'd never go beyond being some warmup fight, scrapping by to make a living. The symmetry greatly amused the Magic Society Director. This was good for Ziel, as it left Lucian in a better mood than Ziel normally found him.
"Pochard tells me you have some kind of spirit coin problem," Lucian said.
"Not exactly a problem," Ziel specified in his slow barely alive tone. "More like a curiosity that I believe warrants further inquiry."
Ziel rummaged through his robes to produce an iron-rank spirit coin. Handing it to Lucian to examine.
"This coin and several others like it have been found in circulation over the last couple of weeks. You'll notice the unusual embossing of a man winking," Ziel explained dully.
Pochard leaned over to peer at the coin in Lucian's hand.
"On the back," Ziel continued with a great sigh of effort, "there is an inscription. Thus far, we have failed to identify the language."
"Don't you have a translation ability?" Pochard asked.
"I do," Ziel answered, "although that only tells us what it says, not the language in which it is written."
"So?" Lucian impatiently asked. "What does it say?"
"It reads, 'product of Jason,' and 'good day, friend.' The second part is contextualized as a greeting."
"It's certainly odd," Lucian admitted. "It's a real coin?"
"I've had every coin we've found tested," Ziel responded. "They're all real."
"You checked it against the registry?"
Ziel slowly nodded, "It didn't come from a registered spirit coin farm."
"You think someone's set up an unregistered farm?" Pochard asked.
"It's possible," Ziel replied tiredly. "Certainly, worth looking into. But we haven't seen a lot of these coins, and most illegal coin farms try to imitate a registered imprint. Given the idiosyncratic nature of these coins, and the fact that we've only found a few, I think there is an alternative explanation."
"Oh?' Lucian let out curiously.
"You are, of course, aware that some essence users develop an ability to loot monsters without the use of usual harvesting rituals," Ziel shared his theory. "Usually the prosperity essence is responsible, often in conjunction with a human awakening one of their racial gifts. Such abilities are known to produce spirit coins."
"What's the legality of that?" Pochard asked.
"If it's an ability, then it's perfectly legal," Ziel clarified with a deep sigh. "Insignificant on an economic scale. That's just conjecture, however. If it does turn out to be an unregistered spirit coin farm, then it obviously needs to be found and shut down."
"Alright, Ziel," Lucian replied. "You came all the way here, so I'll go along with it."
Ziel just blankly nodded, not at all happy about convincing his boss of his theory.
"Pochard, put up a contract with the Adventure Society to look into an unregistered farm. Try and get them to put it up as a three-star contract, so we get someone who'll actually do the work. Adventurers get lazy with open-ended contracts."
"If it involves the spirit coin farms, the Adventure Society will make it three-star," Pochard informed Lucian.
"Good. As for you, Ziel, I'll authorize you to use Magic Society resources to pursue your other idea. If these coins are just someone with an ability, find them, so we can put the issue to bed."
"Thanks," Ziel said in dead tone that gave no sense of actual gratitude.
"This is nice," Jason commented.
"Certainly, better than meditating in a dirty backlot," Farrah agreed.
The Island was divided in various districts, all connected by the subterranean, submarine transit line. The locals called it the loop line, or the loop, which was a decent moniker.
Farrah and Jason had taken the loop to the park district, which as the name suggested was dominated by parkland. It was like someone had curated the delta, with paths and gardens winding around pounds and streams. Palm trees and vibrant tropical flowers punctuated open spaces of lush grass, while pathways vanished into shady areas of dense bushes.
Almost everywhere in the park district was open to everyone on the Island. The only private space was the walled-off residence of the city's ruler, the Duke of Greenstone. Jason and Farrah picked out a pleasant spot for their afternoon training. Farrah had suggested a more tranquil environment for meditation than Jory's back yard.
"I still need to go to the clinic, though," Jason said. "I promised I'd come in again this afternoon."
"You realize that once you're an adventurer you won't have as much time for that," Farrah pointed out.
"I know," Jason acknowledged, "but I'd like to make time, where I can. The idea is to help people, right? Killing some monsters can do that but so can turning a room full of sick people into a room full of healthy ones."
"You know," Farrah mused aloud. "that's a perfectly valid point. Maybe you can try and workout a schedule to keep it up as best you can."
"Yeah," Jason agreed. "I'm also thinking about stopping by villages and healing people that are on my way to complete contracts."
"That's a good idea, but it might upset the local church of the Healer."
"Like I care. I'm doing the job they're supposed to do and once I'm an official member of the Adventure Society they can't do much to stop me."
"Not directly," Farrah explained. "They can refuse to heal you if you need it, have their followers refuse you service and any number of things that don't require using violence."
"That's a bridge I'll across later and a little discomfort won't stop me from doing what's right. Besides, between Gordon, the nanites and healing potions, I don't need them."
"That's true, and as long as you don't anger Healer himself it'll only be a problem with this local branch."
"Pretty sure if I angered a god, they'd just smite me," Jason deadpanned.
"No," Farrah explained seriously, "at worst a god would send one of their gold-rankers to kill you. They can't act so directly. Something about their transcendent nature. I don't know the theory behind gods and how they are connected to the world. I was never one to care about the divine."
"I will keep that in mind in case I meet one," Jason commented.
Underneath the Old City fighting pits in the ancient Fortress were a series of hallways and chambers. Fighters and other interested parties used them to prepare for upcoming fights. This included a large number of enforcers to make sure the enthusiasm of would-be participants didn't suddenly wane before their match.
One such chamber contained two women, one of whom was getting ready to fight. Instead of loose, cool clothes, she was wearing a black, backless and sleeveless shirt, a large beige sash around her waist, and black stretch pants with a pair of lightweight brown shoes for stealth and flexible movement. She'd removed the orange over-shirt with two white straps on each shoulder and draped it over a bench.
She was a slender yet athletically fit woman of curvaceous fame and average height. Her skin was the color of chocolate, her hair amethyst and sharp eyes that reflected the color of her hair exactly, the matching minerals a giveaway trait of the celestine race. Her long, shimmering hair was tied back in a simple and practical ponytail, long bangs framing her face.
Her gaze was locked on the wall in front of her as she put herself in the headspace to fight. Her companion looked on with disapproval. She was a human-draconian hybrid, with shoulder length golden hair, thin lines of gold scales going down her cheeks and neck, slitted serpentine eyes, sharp claw-like fingernails and toenails, and a long serpentine tail fully covered in golden scales. She was also two meters tall but unlike the broad muscular male Draconians she was lithe and athletic. Her mouth pouting as she glanced at the door.
"I can't believe she's making you do this," the other woman fumed.
"Ekeri," the fighter responded, her voice firm. "We knew we wouldn't like it going in. But without her protection, we'd be in an even worse situation."
"But putting you back in the pits?" Ekerinatoth complained. "Yoruichi, you already earned your way out of this place."
"Under Silva's father," Yoruichi emphasized. "Now that he's gone, the most important thing is staying out of Silva's hands. This is the price we pay for that."
"Except that you're doing all the paying."
"I'm the only one he wants," Yoruichi replied with a cold fury, disgust evident on her beautiful face.
"I know," Ekeri said with a growly anger but it turned sad. "But I don't want to see you hurt again."
"I can handle myself in a fight, and Ventress doesn't care about the fighting anyways," Yoruichi explained. "She just cares about provoking Silva by showing me off. Once that's done, she has no reason to keep us here."
"Will Silva even know?" Ekeri asked. "You still have the one essence. Does anyone pay attention to these low card fights?"
"He'll know. Sooner, rather than later. Ventress will make sure of that..." she gave Ekerinatoth a wary glance, knowing how'd she'd take the next bit of news. "And the sun has gone down. It won't be a low card fight. I'll be facing an iron ranker... like I used to. You know I crushed fighters with even two essences far too quickly to be entertaining."
"No!" Ekeri roared, the deep rumbling timbre of her draconian heritage evident with her displeasure. "We took up thieving to stop those fights! Sure, you won, but you got bloodier and bloodier with each fight. I... I was carrying your limp, beaten form to Jory's nearly every night. I-I don't want to see you like that again, Yoruichi." Her voice had wavered and became very quiet as tears started forming in her eyes.
"Ekeri..." Yoruichi sighed heavily. "We have no other choice. I'm not becoming Silva's plaything. I'd rather die in the Pits." Her voice became hardened steel with a fiery gleam roaring behind her eyes.
Ekeri's shoulders slumped hopelessly, guilt heavy in her tone, "If you hadn't gotten me my essence you'd have paid off your debts before the old man's death."
Their thieving operations were so profitable that they'd decided to work on getting full essence sets. Naturally, Ekeri wanted Yoruichi to get the final two she'd need to become an iron ranker, but the Celestine had argued that since she already had one, it was only fair that Ekeri got the next one. Ekeri had absorbed the uncommon mirror essence, that gave her the ability: Aegis Mirror that reflects an attack back on her opponent; from physical punches or sword slices to spells like fireballs or curses. Its only weakness was that it could only reflect one attack at a time, so even though it'd stop one of Yoruichi's punches she'd still get hit by the second fist or simultaneous kicks following the first blow. Ekeri wasn't sure how it'd handle a bronze rank or above attack and hoped she'd never find out. She went with the mirror as she didn't want the typical combinations Draconians go with; Dragon confluence with one of the others making it commonly being fire.
They'd earned enough to make another significant payment to both their debts when Old Man Silva died. If they hadn't bought the mirror essence, she'd have paid off her debt in full and her sister in all but blood wouldn't be in this situation.
"We couldn't have known when he'd have died," Yoruichi replied, "and without you I'd never had made as much as I did nearly as quickly."
"Yeah... but still..."
"Besides," a fierce, predatory grin, like a cat's spilt her face, "I've yet to meet someone that could fight as well as I can."
Ekeri gave her a fanged, though weak smile in return, "That's true."
The door to the chamber was pushed open by a huge lykonid, interrupting the two women. Coming in behind him was a woman with dark, cascading hair and a walk so sultry she was almost swerving. Clarissa Ventress only looked the same age as the two women she was walking in on, but authority clung to her as tightly as her dress.
"Are we just about ready, ladies?" Ventress asked.
Ekeri opened her mouth to respond but was silenced by a gesture from Yoruichi.
"Good," Ventress said. "I've arranged a match up that Silva should hear all about. Put on a good show and we might only need the one."
"What's the match-up?" Yoruichi asked in a business-like manner.
Ventress had the smile of a snake who just found a nest full of eggs spread across her face. "Fire Fist."
"Are you kidding?" Ekeri burst out in mixed worry and rage.
"It's fine," Yoruichi soothed, voice calm and unconcerned.
"Do you know what he does to people?" Ekeri asked in furious worry, wheeling on her friend.
"I know," Yoruichi answered, nonplused.
"He does have a reputation," Ventress stated, her voice thick with mirth. "That works in our favor. And this is fun; it turns out he always wanted to fight you. You got out of the pits right when he was getting started, and apparently, he views it as a missed opportunity. Seeing how enthusiastic he was, I just had to go arrange a cage match."
Yoruichi put a hand on Ekeri's shoulder to stop her from erupting again.
"You want a show?" Yoruichi asked with a razor sharp, teeth baring grin. Then, absolute darkness shrouded her in a blink, changing her attire. She now wore a backless, side less halter like kosode and shitagi with a very wide obi. A black neck gaiter for protection and could be used to cover her lower face. Black, mid-bicep length gloves that partially covered her hands with triangular cutouts to improve side-to-side hand motion at the wrist and integrated coverage for the wrist and sides of the hand. Black hakama that cinched in at the ankles and had stirrups around the arc of her feet -the shoes becoming black kung fu shoes.* "You'll get one."
Ventress gave another serpentine smile before responding, "Precisely what I wanted to hear. Ekerinatoth, dear, why don't you come and watch from my viewing box?"
"Go with her," Yoruichi ordered her friend, handing over her orange over-shirt. "I need to get my head in the right space."
"Yoruichi..." Ekeri softly said, with concern thick in her voice.
"I'll be fine," Yoruichi said with absolute confidence. "You just watch."
Lucian arrived at his viewing room with a contented sigh. Trailing behind him was Cassowary Finn, the son of Lucian's deputy, Pochard. Cassowary spent much of his days working as a go-between for the two men, a key role in allowing Lucian to work out of the Fortress. Some tasks could only be done in person, however, which forced Lucian from his preferred habitat.
"I'm glad that's over with," Lucian sighed out in relief. "Maybe there'll be a good fight on."
"I did see them bringing out the cage," Cassowary noted. Always lurking near his father and Lucian, Cassowary was picking up on their taste for vicarious violence.
"Might be something interesting," Lucian hoped. "Put it up on the window."
Each private viewing room was fronted with a solid sheet of glass, enchanted to project images from the various fighting pits. It could show several at once, or focus on one, all controlled by touching runes set into the wall. Cassowary did so, bringing up the image of Fortress personnel bolting together the walls of a large metal cage.
"Any idea what this is about?" Lucian asked.
One of Cassowary's tasks was to keep abreast of fights that might interest Lucian.
"If they're bringing out the cage this early in the night," Cassowary informed, "it's probably Fire Fist."
"Fire Fist?"
Lucian rarely paid attention to the early fights, relying on Cassowary to dig out any worthwhile nuggets.
"I think you'll like him," Cassowary suggested. "He usually fights in escape-the-cage matches, which don't end until one fighter leaves the cage. Fire Fist likes to toy with his opponents before he leaves."
"Sounds fun," Lucian agreed. "Why haven't I heard of him before?"
"He doesn't appear very often," Cassowary explained. "As you might imagine, they have trouble finding people willing to go up against him. They tried forcing people for a while, but that didn't make for interesting fights."
"So, this should be a good one."
The fighting pits were, as the name suggests, a series of shallow pits in a wide area surrounded by tiered seating. Because the pits were shallow to allow people to see in, there would occasionally be casualties in the audience. It could be from an essence ability gone astray or the crowd-pleasing spectacle of a competitor trying to escape through the audience. The organizers have taken no steps to redress the issues in the many years the pits have been operating.
Lucian looked on as an announcer proclaimed. "Today we have a very special match. As you may have very well surmised from the cage behind me, we will have the pleasure of welcoming a favorite back to the arena. Please join me in welcoming the savage, all-consuming Fire Fist!"
There were stairwells leading down to the chambers below, placed to allow fighters to emerge and parade around before the audience on the way to their chosen fighting stage. Fire Fist was tall and lithe, with red and yellow streaks of hair that was either dyed or the result of some essence power. He was wearing only a pair of red silk pants with a yellow flame motif, his muscled chest bare. His hands, held leisurely at his side, were wreathed in flames that dance up his arms as he strutted through the open door of the cage.
"Fire Fist, ladies and gentlemen!"
Fire Fist held up an arm to acknowledge the crowd, which was large for the time of night. Word of the match-up had clearly gotten around. The announcer waited for the audience to quiet down before starting his next introduction.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer goes on. "For those true aficionados among you, there is yet a greater treat in store. Years ago, this arena was graced with the sweet agile grace of a beautiful cat. Sadly, she sped away from us, but today, ladies and gentlemen, she has returned. I give you the grace and beauty of... THE FLASH MASTER!"
A dark beauty with amethyst hair marched up and out of the stairwell, without so much as a glance at the crowd. She stopped by the announcer, looking up and over the crowd to glare at one of the viewing rooms before heading into the cage.
In his own viewing room, Lucian stood up so fast he knocked over his chair. He walked around his desk and down to the window where he stroked his fingers over her face.
"Who is she?" he asked in reverence.
"I'm not sure, Mr. Lamprey. I'll find out."
"See that you do."
"I always wanted to fight you," Fire Fist said to Yoruichi as they faced each other in the cage. "I was just starting out when you left. You were a legend."
Yoruichi knew what he was doing. The audience liked some banter before a match. Not the crowds who couldn't really hear them, but the big names in the viewing rooms would. They were the ones he wanted to impress.
"They don't schedule legends to fight at the start of the evening," she stated matter-of-factly. "You're overestimating our value to them."
Fire Fist responded with a tone that matched his essence, "I'm going to earn a place amongst the Big Three. I'm not a debt-slave like you were."
"I'm no one's slave," Yoruichi replied with a hard edge.
"No?" Fire Fist asked humorously. "Then why are you back here? Two years and no more essences than when you left."
"Because the guy looking to enslave me doesn't want me for fighting," she answered in a cold fury.
"I can understand that," Fire Fist leered, his eyes roaming over her body. "We have some time together, once I put you on the ground. Until I leave the cage, we can have all the fun we want."
"You're not man enough to get me to the ground," Yoruichi said, with her predatory grin wide and purple eyes brightly glowing. "But I'll take my time playing with the little mouse foolish enough to crawl into a cage with a cat."
"Think you have the skills, little girl?" he mocked.
"I've seen you fight," she yawned, hand moving up to stifle it playfully. "I use more skill in putting on my shoes than will be required to handle you... ember mouse."
Fire Fist lunged forward with an enraged roar, leading with the burning fists from which he took his name. Yoruichi disappeared in flash of movement, leaving a blur behind as she used her only essence ability: Shunpo.
He skidded to a halt just in time to receive a kick to the side of the head, slamming into the side of the cage. As he bounced back from the impact dazed, his face met a fist. A loud crunch and spray of blood signaled his nose breaking.
Yoruichi had blurred a meter away, not a speck of blood on her and was yawning again. "That all you got little mouse."
"Ughh... You bitch!" Fire Fist roared, blood spluttering out onto the ground.
He raised his hands into the air before slamming them down, cracking the ground from his Might essence, fire exploding out in a line towards Yoruichi. She flashed away again, lazily kicking Fire Fist in the butt and into his own flames. Naturally, as he had the fire essence and it was his own ability, he was unharmed. Though, he was red in fury at being toyed with.
She was just lounging around, hand on hip with a Cheshire grin plastered on his face.
"You realize they call you Fire Fist because that's all you have going for you, right?" she started degrading him. "You're a mediocre fighter with a gimmick that makes people flinch. I don't know what kind of ambitions you have, but I wouldn't bother. This is the highest stage you'll have any real accomplishment, and your reputation is taking a big hit."
His entire body started heating up, steam rising off him as heat waves emanated from him. Yoruichi could feel a slight burning sensation on her skin just standing there. An explosion from his feet launched him at her with blurring speed but her ability had hit bronze long ago and it was skilled based, she easily dodged him.
"Stop running around and fight me!" he bellowed, fire crawling all along his body, a smug grin on his face. "Or are you just a frightened little kitten, too scared to get near an open flame?"
She knew he was baiting her and that hitting him in his current state would burn her, but she had no other choice. Fire Fist was becoming hotter and hotter by the second, flames covering more of his body.
Her form seemed to shimmer as he was suddenly bombarded with a flurry of blows. Kicks and punches rained down on every inch of his body so fast that it looked like he was being knocked around by an invisible force. Even so, every blow left burns on Yoruichi's fists, and her shoes were burning away. Streams of short-lived fire and smoke seemed to blur around Fire Fist.
Bleeding from his nose, mouth and ears, his mind blurring from concussive force, Fire Fist was helpless to her unending attacks. So, he activated his trump card ability from his Onslaught confluence essence: Blast Burn.
In an instant, a booming explosion of fire radiated out from him and consumed the entire cage, streams of flames licking out and hitting several members of the audience. Their screams deafened by the sound of the explosion. Normal rank and even a few iron rankers lost their hearing as their ears bled.
For several minutes the entire fortress was silent until the fire and smoke cleared. The caged was a broken, melted wreck and in the center of ring was an exhausted Fire Fist. He was on his hands and knees, coated in sweat, breathing hard with visible steam coming out with every exhaled breath. He was out of mana and his stamina was depleted, even his health was low. He shakily rose to his feet and roared out victoriously.
It was cut short from a fist cracking into his forehead, throwing him back into the remains of the cage. He gasped, desperately trying to catch his breath, the air having left his lungs. Blood came out with several of his raspy attempts.
Only once he was able to breathe again did he notice the loud cheering of the crowd, "FLASH! FLASH! FLASH!" repeating over and over again.
With enormous effort, he raised his head enough to see her...
The Flash Master was standing where he'd just been triumphantly cheering. Her left arm's glove, right pant leg and shoe were gone, revealing burned, bubbling flesh underneath. Her face was hard, slightly reddened from burns and eyes glowing brightly but with an icy undercurrent that made him shiver in fear.
Yoruichi slowly meandered towards him with slow measured steps, each footfall sounding like a nail being hammered into his coffin. He couldn't understand what had happened. How had she escaped his Blast Burn attack? It consumed the entire cage. She'd clearly been hit by some of it but not nearly enough to make sense. She should be a charred corpse or at least a pile of burned mewling flesh unable to move.
It was impossible.
She grabbed him by his hair with her good arm and dragged him across the arena. He'd weakly gripped the limb and squeezed, the passive strength gifted to him from the Might essence allowing him to crack bone even in his weakened state. Yet, she simply kicked backwards in a blur of motion, breaking his jaw and sending a few teeth flying out, making him let go.
Yoruichi dropped him once they were in the center, the crowd cheering her name ever louder.
She then grabbed his arm, stretching it out and raised an elbow. It smashed down on his trapped forearm, producing a loud crack and horrifying shriek of pain. She did the same to the other arm and then moved on to his legs. Stretching them out and breaking the shins with a powerful kick each.
He was barely conscious, whimpering pathetically as she stood between his legs, foot raised, "This is for insinuating that you would rape me." A viscous, predatory grin on her face, eyes gleaming cruelly.
"N-no-o..." he tried to plead, only to let out a bloodcurdling scream as her foot crushed his plums.
The Adventure Society campus has a marshalling yard where larger groups could assemble. Kaname arrived to find a large group waiting for him. He has two employees of the Adventure Society with him: the paunchy functionary, Albert, and an official who, like Kaname, was bronze rank. Originally Kaname would be administering the field test alone, but the society has assigned another person to assist. Seeing the almost twenty participants, he now understood why.
"Are the groups normally this large?" Kaname asked Albert.
"No, sir, they are not," Bert answered, handing over a clipboard. "Good luck, sir, although I'm sure you won't need it."
"Why so many?" Kaname asked the Adventure Society official.
He was a man in his late twenties and was rather distinctive in appearance. He was wearing practical wear for the delta, tough but loose and breathable fabric. He has a bronze brooch in the shape of the Adventure Society emblem, which was standard for upper-tier officials. His practical clothes were topped with an impractical hat, broad-brimmed with an ostentatious colored feather. However, overshadowing even that was a moustache unlike anything Kaname had ever seen. Glistening with wax, it twirled its way out past the sides of the man's head.
The official's name was Vincent Trenslow. His appearance gave Kaname pause, but his manner in their short acquaintance was nothing but professional.
"It seems there was some manner of grand administrative error," Vincent explained unhappily. "More than half of these people already passed the field assessment and were admitted to the society, but the records of their assessments were lost, despite multiple copies of such records having been made and kept separately. It was decided that they should undertake the field assessment again."
"In my experience, the Adventure Society is meticulous with their records," Kaname replied, his tone indicating his disbelief in the records being lost. "Even if they weren't, what kind of solution is this?"
"The kind of solution you get when the error in question disproportionately affects members of the aristocracy," Vincent answered, hinting at the truth. "The kind of aristocracy looking to make a connection with an important adventurer visiting from distant lands."
"I see," Kaname responded darkly.
"The director asked me personally to extend her apologies," Vincent informed. "She is new to the role and has a long way to go when it comes to purging outside influence. She made rather a point of inviting you to assess these applicants with, and I quote, 'punishing rigor.'"
Kaname grinned, a gleam to his lavender eyes, "And what are your thoughts on this, Mr. Trenslow?"
"I may have a few suggestions that would interest you," a grin of his own matching Kaname's.
"Thank you so much," the woman said, still shaking Jason's hand.
"No worries," Jason replied, extricating his digits from the woman's grip.
"Make sure you drink a lot of water when you go home," Jory told her. "Eating some fruit would be good as well.
"Oh, I'll be drinking, alright," she happily responded as she left the clinic.
"That's not the kind of drinking I meant," Jory called out. "And she's gone."
He sighed in defeat.
"Well, that's the last one. How about you and I have a drink?"
"Sure," Jason agreed, "a drink sounds perfect, mate."
Seeing the time, Jory yelled out to the receptionist, "You have a good night, Janice."
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Tillman. Mr. Asano."
"Goodnight, Janice," Jason gave his own farewell.
They wandered into Jory's office, sitting down on either side of Jory's desk. He pulled out two bottles and two glasses. He poured a bright green liquid into a glass and pushed it across the desk to Jason.
"This stuff is a bit more potent," Jory informed, "so it should get past that poison resistance of yours. It's also horrifyingly sweet, the way you like it."
"Thanks."
He took a sip, nodding appreciatively at the taste.
Poison [Plime Fruit Liqueur] has inflicted [Alcohol] on you.
You have resisted [Alcohol].
[Alcohol] does not take effect.
Jason sighed.
"No?" Jory asked.
"No. Tastes good, though."
"That's not what booze is for," Jory said, pouring himself something amber from the second bottle. "You look kind of tired. I thought cleansing the sick freshened you up."
"I'm not tired," Jason explained. "Weary maybe. That woman had cancer, and I just took it away like it was never there."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"Of course, it is. But back where I come from, we don't have essences. Or alchemy, for that matter, although we have something similar, I guess. We just call it pharmacology."
"You don't talk about where you're from, much," Jory pointed out. "I remember you said there wasn't a lot of magic. No monsters, right?"
"Never even heard of a monster surge until I came here."
"That'd be nice," Jory commented. "Like most things, the poor take the brunt of a monster surge. How do those uh... hospitals treat the sick without magic?"
"They use medicine and surgery, " Jason answered, "but without magic it has limits. Recovery can take a long time, and a lot of the options are bad. Take cancer, for example. Now I can just chant a spell and it's cleansed, but back home it isn't that easy. They slice people open, try and cut it out of them. Poison them and hope the cancer dies before they do."
"That sounds barbaric."
"We don't have better options. I think about what I could do with the power I have now. All the people I could help."
"Are you going back?"
"One day," Jason answered honestly. "Home is very far away, and the conditions to get home are... not ideal."
"How did you get here? You said something about a magical accident?"
"A summoning spell went awry. It reached into my magically desolate home and plucked me right out of it. That's how I met Rufus, Gary and Farrah. I got dumped right into the middle of their mess."
"Come on, we need to get those burns treated," Ekeri stated firmly, broking no room for argument.
"It's not that big a deal," Yoruichi defended. "I've had worse."
And it would have been worse if she hadn't accepted the racial gift evolution she'd gotten when she absorbed her Swift essence. It gave her the dark combat attire that let her turn transparent at a very high mana cost. It also made her stronger and faster than someone with just one essence should be. One of her favorite aspects was the ability to walk and run on air.
"That doesn't make me feel any better, Yoruichi," Ekeri groused. "Nor does it take away from your current injures."
"I know," she limped along, Ekeri helping her along with her tail wrapped around her midsection, Yoruichi's right arm wrapped around her lower back due to the height difference.
They went through the door of the Broadstreet Clinic to find the receptionist packing up to go.
"Didn't this place used to be full of people?" Ekeri commented. "I remember coming in here one evening and it was still packed to the door."
"Maybe it's under new management," Yoruichi guessed. "That'd explain that new red, blocky crossing lines on the door. The new sign for the clinic, maybe?"
"Oh, no. This is still Jory's place. The red cross was Mr. Asano's idea to cover some defacement by a pair of acolytes from the church of the Healer," Janice explained, head down as she finished readying to leave. "It's actually thanks to Mr. Asano that we get through everyone quicker, even with all the extra people."
"Why are there extra people?" Ekeri asked.
"We just need one of Jory's cheap healing potions," Yoruichi road over her friend's curiosity.
Janice looked up at the pair and gasped, "What happened?"
"I got burned," Yoruichi replied flatly. "The healing potion?"
"Oh, yes. That shouldn't be a problem," Janice said. "I'll go see if Mr. Tillman is available."
After a few moments they heard a voice loud with drink.
"Janice, why are you still here?"
"I wanted to finish up the records before I went home," they heard Janice reply as she led Jory out from the back. His unsteady gait and expression of general bewilderment said he was on his way through a bottle.
"I should pay you more," Jory told his receptionist.
"You just started paying me more, sir."
"Yeah? Good on me, then."
He looked up at the two women.
"Ladies!" Jory greeted with buzzed exuberance. "It's been a while. Hello, Ekeri. What brings you to my door?"
"Yoruichi's fighting again," Ekeri answered grimly.
"Well, that's no good," Jory replied.
"It is what it is," Yoruichi stated.
"Then I suppose I'll be seeing more of you," Jory commented, beaming at Ekeri. "That's nice."
"Yes, yes, you two can flirt more," Yoruichi playfully commented with a grin before moving things along. "But I'll be needing that potion first."
"Here," a voice cut in.
A vial sailed through the air, Yoruichi reaching out to catch it with her good arm. The man who threw it was human, but neither woman recognized his ethnicity, he was unlikely to be local. He was tall with a broad frame while his facial features were a little too sharp to be handsome, the goatee helping to lessen that effect. His dark hair had a silkiness to it, cropped short with a wavy fringe. He had a scar over his right eye and some sort of burn like tattoo on his neck.
But it was his stance and eyes that caught her attention. This body language was relaxed but ready for violence at any moment, much like her own. And his odd, sparking silver eyes with diamond pupils held a depth to them that spoke of a hard life with painful experiences. Someone who has seen many terrible things and has done what was needed to survive.
He had the look of a hardened warrior.
Yoruichi had rarely seen such people. A few of the older pit fighters had a similar look about them, and even her own held such a gaze. But it'd been the time she'd seen an experienced silver rank adventurer walking about that she'd seen such eyes.
"That's not one of mine," Jory said to the man, snapping Yoruichi out her examination of the man. "Where did you get that?"
"Looted it from some cultists," the man explained simply. "I've used one myself."
"That's sounds sketchy," Jory argued. "Janice, go get some of the potions I made."
Yoruichi pulled the stopper off with her teeth and sniffed at the contents before downing it. Instantly, the burns on her hands, arm and leg faded away to smooth dark skin.
"Thanks, that's much better" she replied in relief, stretching out her healed limbs. "What do we owe you?"
"On the house," the man answered with a grin and a wink. "It lets Janice go home instead of updating the inventory."
Yoruichi nodded, "That's rather generous of you... what's your name?"
"Jason," he answered. "And fair warning, that was bronze rank so the magic will linger longer than normal."
"Good to know, Jason. I'm Yoruichi, by the way," she grinned, watching him eye her up and down.
Most men and some women tended to, and she knew what was coming. Some attempt at getting her to go out for a drink or an invite back to his place. He admittedly had a nice body that her discerning eye could make out through the loose robes common for Greenstone. He also gave off a dangerous vibe that sent pleasant tingles up her spine. Then, despite the hardened quality to them, his eyes had a genuine warmth to them. They showed the natural attraction she'd seen when people saw her but not the creepy, possessive nature most men she'd met had.
Like Silva, who wasn't terrible looking himself and she was more than willing to have some fun with a good-looking man when the mood struck her. But Silva had a foul vibe to him and a darkness in his eyes that kept her from taking him up on his many passes throughout their long history. A correct assumption as rumors had spoken of what Silva liked to do to women foolish enough to grace his bed.
Most disappeared and the ones that lived were permanently scarred. Not physically as his father would pay the church of the Healer to take care of physical injuries. It was their minds that were scarred and broken. He couldn't enjoy sex unless he broke the woman he was with first. Torturing them until they pleaded and promised to do whatever he wanted. The ones that didn't kill themselves later joined a brothel.
"Nice to meet you, Yoruichi," Jason cordially replied, his eyes back on her.
She raised a suspicious brow, "That's it? No 'How about knocking back a few with me? I did just heal your burns.'"
"Yoruichi," Ekeri chastised.
Though, Jason just chuckled back, "Nope. You could probably use a drink after the rough night you had and you're definitely gorgeous enough to make the mind wander in that direction. But you neither want nor need such attention right now. Plus, I would never use leverage to get a woman to spend time with me. That's what creeps and pervs do. No thank you."
Yoruichi laughed, "Very true."
"Though, if you ever feel like asking me out for drink, I won't say no," Jason smiled playfully. "But I'm not easy, so don't expect me to put out on the first date."
"Oh, really," she replied just as playfully with a predatory grin and hand on a cocked hip. "I'm certain I could get you to put out in less than five minutes." Her amethyst eyes twinkling with mirth.
Jason laughed, "Oh, I believe you. I am straight and have eyes after all. I doubt anyone interested in you could say no."
"Not yet anyway," her grin became victorious. "Thanks again, Jason. See ya around the next time I need healing."
Yoruichi turned and walked away, giving a wave from behind.
"So long, Yoruichi," he replied with a wave of his own.
"Wait..." Ekeri called out to stop her, having long since been used to men trying to chat up her friend and had stayed quiet. She was always an afterthought when standing next to Yoruichi... except for those weirdos that wanted strange, and she wasn't into being an attraction or fetish. "And she's gone. Bye, Jory. Thanks, Jason but I hope we don't meet again anytime soon."
"That fair," Jason said, unoffended. "I am working in a clinic, and you don't want your friend to get hurt."
"Yeah," Ekeri had a pained sort of smile and ran after her friend.
"Bye, Ekeri!" Jory called out with a wave as the door closed behind them.
*Yoruichi's Shihakusho design from 110 years ago.
