1 week ago, in Thornrest.
Haisha entered the guild and looked at his surroundings with a bright smile. He wasn't wearing his robe anymore and was in his usual attire. He wore his cargo pants and brown bomber jacket that he borrowed from his brother. On top of his head were his pilot goggles, from his other brother.
Upon entering, a few people in there looked at him and mockingly laughed to themselves. One of them was Gnev, who found it hard to believe a child would enter this place willingly. Everyone shifted their attention back to what they were doing, and ignored Haisha. Except for Gnev.
"This place is filled with Treasurers! One of them would know how to help me." Haisha thought to himself as he kept walking. Gnev stood in front of him, and prevented him from going further. "Easy there, kid. Looking for someone?" He grinned. His frame left Haisha in the dust. Haisha barely reached the man's chest, and his smile dropped slightly.
Haisha placed a hand on his chin and looked at Gnev in the eye, not intimidated in the slightest. He didn't even register Gnev as a threat, and was curious rather than cautious. "Yeah! I'm looking for my bro." He smiled once more.
When Haisha said that, more people laughed inside the guild. Seeing Gnev approach the kid, the workers grew anxious. To them, he was a force of nature. A person no one else defeated, the one who slayed a Magibeast all by himself.
"Oh yeah? And where exactly is your 'bro'?" Gnev's voice grew more intimidating. No one in the guild could protest.
"I dunno. That's what I'm trying to find out." Haisha shrugged. He didn't mean to sound disrespectful, but Gnev was offended by him. "You smart-ass. I don't see any freaks like you in here, so your bro isn't here, got it?" he said coldly. He wasn't intending to fight Haisha, really.
Haisha's smile dropped when Gnev called him a freak, but it looked more hurt than angry. "That's a mean thing to say, mister! How would you feel if I called your big body… we- we…" He tried his best to say something negative as a metaphor, but he struggled to do so. "...Questionable." He gave up and settled for something less hurtful.
Multiple gasps were heard, and some even took a step back out of instinct. Haisha stood unaffected. Gnev's grin dropped. "It's just figurative speech, by the way. I don't think your body is questionable. Speaking of, my bro has a similar body, except better looking." His mouth just kept running as he further dug his own grave.
Gnev clenched his fists, his ego hurt by a small child. He held his anger back, as he still didn't want to fight Haisha. But he was considering it. "Anywho, my bro is in a weird prison. And I'm going to rescue him. I was just wondering if any of you knew the way." Haisha looked around the guild as he asked this. "Because this guy doesn't seem to." Haisha pointed at Gnev, still well-intentioned.
And that sealed the case. Gnev put his hand on Haisha's shoulder. "Uh oh, stranger danger-" Haisha muttered to himself before Gnev threw him towards the wall, his back clashing against the wall and leaving cracks in it. Haisha didn't seem hurt, but he groaned. "I don't really want to fight, mister!" Haisha yelled.
"So you're still awake after that? You really are looking for a beating." Gnev cracked his knuckles. "I still don't know how to do that with my knuckles. My bro does though." Haisha rolled up his shoulders as Gnev slowly approached him.
"I would argue he does it even better than you do-" Without letting Haisha finish, Gnev charged forward and swung his fist. Haisha's pilot goggles glowed as he quickly ducked, leaving Gnev's fist in the wall. This enraged him even more. "I'm just looking for my bro!" He called out.
"You have a Treasure," Gnev noticed the glow. "You're not the only one!" His belt glowed. "Of course I'm not, my bro has one too-" Gnev interrupted Haisha again. "Stop talking about your brother!" he yelled as his leg muscles contracted like springs and released devastating force. "Sorry!" He apologised while dodging his charge again.
"I'm sure we can talk about this, mister. I wouldn't want to hurt you, honest!" Haisha pleaded, but to no one's surprise, it made Gnev even more angry. "You're the only one that's going to be hurt, you little brat!" He clenched his teeth.
Gnev's legs locked like springs again. He started hopping around the room and increasing his speed with each collision. Haisha had a hard time following his movements, and opened his mouth in awe. "So fast! So your muscles can be like springs? Such a cool Treasure!"
Gnev was surprised that Haisha figured out his Treasure so fast, but let it slide. "You may be fast, but this is where my experience will win! You made your mistake when you challenged me!" he yelled.
"That's…" Before Haisha could plead again, he realised something terrifying. "Wait… Is he actually trying to kill me?" he thought to himself. "Why? I'm just a kid. An adult wouldn't kill a kid, would they?"
Haisha completely ignored Gnev hopping around the room and looked at the ground in shock. "That means this is no adult. He is just a kid who failed to grow up!"
He gulped, letting the realisation sink in. "If it can't be helped." Haisha rolled up his sleeves. He waited for Gnev's move.
Gnev achieved speeds that were almost eye-blinding, making it impossible for someone to read his movements. "Oh, now you're getting heated up, huh?!" he said. He stopped jumping around the room, and charged towards Haisha at devastating speed. "Too bad, because-"
Haisha raised his fist and slammed Gnev's head into the ground, leaving a giant crater on the floor. Gnev immediately stopped responding, and blood gushed out from his head. Haisha sighed and pulled back his fist. "It doesn't matter how fast you are. You were still going to come at me, right?" He sounded solemn.
He wiped the blood on his fist onto his pants and looked around the guild. "Does anyone know where my bro-"
Everyone inside the guild except for the employees rushed out of the room in panic. "He defeated him with a single punch?! He is a monster!" one of them yelled.
Haisha's mouth stayed open in surprise as he looked at one of the employees. "Hey, he is bleeding from his head. He might die… could you please help-" Before he finished his sentence, they all immediately rushed to Gnev's body and carried him to another room where he could be treated. "Yes! Just please don't hurt us!" one of them said.
He was left speechless once more, and rolled his eyes. He put his hands behind his neck. "I guess that's that."
"Good punch, Haisha!" A woman called out his name. He perked up upon hearing his own name and struggled to identify the woman. It was Kori, sitting alone while everybody else had run away. "How do you know my name? Oh also I appreciate the compliment!" His smile returned.
"I'm a friend of your big brother, Tsuyoi. I am looking for him too. What a coincidence, right?" She invited him to sit with her, and he did so. He sat in front of her, his previous warmth returning when he saw that she was smiling too. "What a bully, right?" Kori looked at him in the eye.
"Yeah. I hope I didn't hit him too hard…" He scratched the back of his head. "Don't worry, he is a tough guy. I'm not surprised that you beat him, you really are strong like your brother." She sounded impressed.
But her words seemed to affect him, and his smile dropped again. "Thanks. But don't call me that." He boldly stated. She was taken aback by his shift in tone. "Call you what?" she asked.
"I appreciate the compliment. But don't call me 'Little Ketsui'." He looked at her in the eye, clearly setting a boundary. "I didn't call you that, though."
Haisha's eyes widened as she said that. "Oh, my bad then! I thought you said that…" He giggled. "That was one hell of a punch. What is your Treasure?" She brushed his hair and looked at his goggles, her touch weirding him out. "It's… uh… It's an E-Grade, but that doesn't matter! I don't really understand it myself, but when I put my emotions into it, it makes me stronger!"
"Like a battery?" She pondered, and pulled back her hand. "Yep!" He nodded. "It's like… permanent though, I guess. I store my emotions into it, then it makes me permanently stronger! Like a muscle. Though if I store too much I feel robotic…" He trailed off.
"That's wonderful." She smiled and leaned further, resting her chin on her hand. "Do you have any idea who you just defeated?" she asked. "No, not really. He didn't tell me his name."
"His name is Gnev. And before you came, he was the strongest and the most feared person. But now that's you." She added. Haisha placed his hand on his chin again and looked up, pondering. "So…?"
"Your brother is in a prison called 'Hades' in Glacilume. But I suppose you already know that, given how you came to Thornskar. But to get there, we need a map because no ship goes to Glacilume other than United Government ships." As she explained, Haisha nodded along. "With this newfound reputation of yours, we can have influence over this island and find the map. But you'll need to punch a few more bad people." She tilted her head.
"I don't want to rule people though. But I'm fine with punching bad guys." He looked down at the table. "You won't rule them. They'll… willingly work with you with their own consent. How does that sound?"
"Hmm…" He thought very hard about it. "How would we do that though?" He tilted his head, matching her. "Don't worry…" She placed her hand on Haisha's hand. "...leave that to your big sister."
1 week later, in the bar of Thornrest.
Haisha sat at the bar, chatting with random people and laughing. He didn't know it, but they laughed along with him out of fear. The bartenders brought more food to his table, and he smiled in excitement. "Thank you!"
Suddenly, Gnev approached his table, his head bandaged. After his fight with Haisha, he had his skull severely damaged even though Haisha had been holding back. After the incident, he started to work alongside Haisha, because it was only when Gnev realised he was superior to him that he could see the vision and understanding behind the kid. That made Gnev respect him, but also feel ashamed of his loss and wary of submission. "A weird magiborn came along, but the Incest Siblings saved him. What should we do?" he asked.
Haisha rolled his eyes. "Give him a big hug and welcome him to the gang! It's nice to have diversity, right?" He laughed. Gnev gulped in frustration. "It's a Magiborn. I don't think you understand."
"Maybe, I don't know. What did he look like anyway?" Haisha raised an eyebrow. "Like a freak. He had purple eyes, and was skinny as fuck. He had long pink hair too." The description Gnev gave caught Haisha off-guard, his smile growing bigger. "Find him and bring him to me, please! Give him the best welcome though!"
The sudden change in his attitude made Gnev curious. "Why? You know 'em?"
"Yeah. He is a friend of mine, and a friend of my bro!" He went back to eating. With the mention of Tsuyoi, Gnev sighed and started walking away. "Just who the hell is this 'bro' guy?" Gnev muttered before disappearing.
2 days later, today.
"Wait, what do you mean 2 days later? I was taken away by Gnev the same day I fought him, right?" Pablo blurted out in surprise. "You were asleep for 2 days, namesake." Haisha casually stated. "Shit." he said in disbelief.
"So Kori just found you? Randomly? By pure luck? That's… one hell of a story. Are you sure you're not an unreliable narrator?" He looked at Haisha and tried to process his shock. At the same time, his suspicion of Kori reached an all-time peak. One that he could not ignore anymore. "I'm a trustworthy person! I would never lie to my friends!" He chuckled.
"Last time we met you robbed me." Pablo groaned as his headache hit him once more. "Yeah and I saved you now. So we're good." He gave Pablo a thumbs-up.
"That's fair." He tried to breathe through the pain, but he could literally feel as if a bug was in his brain munching on it. He thought about what Haisha said about his dialogue with Kori, and found her behaviour very creepy. "I don't think you should keep talking with Kori. For your own good." He thought of placing his hand on his shoulder, but decided it wasn't a good decision given the context. "You can't tell me what to do! Only I can decide what is right for myself!" Haisha raised his voice.
But Pablo didn't get hostile; instead, he couldn't help but smile. "I was just giving you advice, but okay." He rolled his eyes. "You've got it all figured out, huh?" he added. "What do you think we should do?"
After Pablo asked that, Haisha started to think. "Yes! Good, think!" Pablo got excited because of the progress. Haisha clenched himself too hard and veins popped up on his forehead. "Okay maybe don't think that hard…" He nudged Haisha to break him out of the loop. He flinched in response. "Oh, I just remembered! They say you have mana. Can't you learn sorcery like Magiborns?"
Pablo thought about it as well and sighed. "Sorcery? I can barely use mana, how am I supposed to cultivate it enough to have a sorcery? Nasaki taught me so many things but I can't even do any of them, let alone sorcery. We just don't have the time."
"That's true." He sighed. "Can't you attempt it though?"
"Maybe. But right now, I feel like someone is skull-fucking me. After I feel better, sure." Pablo headed for the door. "In the meantime… I need to figure out what to do."
He went up to the main floor to the bar. There she was, sitting all by herself. He took a deep breath, hyping himself up by beating his chest. "Ow." He stopped hyping himself up by beating his chest.
After gathering his courage, he approached her. She noticed him first before he could say anything. "Hey there, mind joining me for a few drinks? Alcohol could take the pain out of your mind." She winked.
"I don't do alcohol, sorry." He sat down regardless; her presence was enough to make him nervous. "It's okay. A glass of water, maybe?" She rested her chin on her hand. "Sure. That sounds nice." He avoided eye contact with her to hide his embarrassment, but it was visible. "So uh… do you have any plans?"
"Not really. You're the smart one, right? You're the one that can use mana, you're the one that defeated Sanita." The drink she ordered arrived, and she looked up to the bartender. "A glass of water for my friend here." she said. The bartender nodded and left.
"But I don't have any plans either. I can't think with this goddamn headache." He sighed in frustration. "Speaking of Sanita, why didn't I hear any news about him? I killed a top-priority terrorist, didn't I?"
She chuckled, and waved her hands in dismissal. "You really don't know anything. There are plenty of reasons for that. You're not going to hear about a Magiborn in the newspapers. They are hiding, and I think you know why."
"Yeah, I know." He rolled his eyes and looked at Gnev, who was standing at the corner of the room. "I know." He repeated.
"And the United Government wouldn't really reveal 4 terrorists snuck into their hidden facility, would they?" She tilted her head. "I'm not a terrorist." He refused the label. But she didn't respond, and the silence was his answer. "Okay, maybe I am."
"On top of that, Sanita wasn't top priority. He was nowhere close. The world is way bigger than you think, Pablo. You haven't even scratched the tip of the iceberg. You're not hunted because of your crimes, you're hunted because of what you are." She took a sip from her drink, and Pablo did the same. "Top priority would be Miriam Faerr. She is the person the government wants the most."
"Why? I've heard of her." He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think you've heard of her?" She smiled.
"Oh." Realisation hit him, and he looked back at the table. "Good luck to her, I guess."
"But sneaking into Hades would be big news, if that's what you're after." She leaned back. "How? I can't even use my Treasure. I can barely use mana, and I'm still leaking it like a wild hose. How are we supposed to save Tsuyoi?" He waved his hands while talking.
She looked into his eyes and focused without saying a word. Pablo looked back. The two shared eye contact that lasted longer than Pablo was comfortable with. He looked away, flushed.
"Why do you want to save Tsuyoi? It's not like you knew each other for years. Why not just… move on? Why not leave him behind? You don't owe him anything." She asked.
The question left him hanging. He couldn't tell if he was surprised, offended, or confused by it. He looked down once more. "I guess I…" He struggled to find the words that fit. "I'm in disbelief by what happened in the past days. I was… just a random sick guy from Thalorien. I didn't even leave the island once in my life. I may have a Treasure, which is useless as it is, but it's still magic. Now, I'm fighting, killing, stealing, running, defeating people like Sanita and fending for my life. And I'm sure if I just go back to Thalorien, I'll return to my normal life. I may die from this disease, but I'm not even sure I will find a cure." His voice got quieter as he spoke. She leaned in to pay more attention.
"But despite all of that, one person was with me." His voice shook. "Tsuyoi wasn't just an ally to me, he was the person that made all of this… tolerable. With him, I could call these events 'adventures' and not 'nightmares'. I was afraid of crossing the line each time, but with him…" He smiled. "We were afraid together." He looked up again.
Her eyes widened slightly in surprise. "I see."
"I may barely know him. I don't even know his past, I don't know his actual motives. And I'm sure money isn't it. If it was about money, we'd part ways after we stole from Arzt." He drank from his glass of water again. "I want to save him because without him… tomorrow is just survival, nothing more." With his eyes tearing up, he exhaled in relief.
"A tomorrow without hope… is just survival." He added.
Kori's smile dropped, and something unexplainable replaced it. An expressionless face, carrying words Pablo could not hear for now. She smiled again, and took a sip from her drink. "But you still don't know why you want to see tomorrow." Her words lacked the usual bite they had before.
Pablo nodded, and wiped away his tears. "That won't stop me from saving him." He smiled, determination rising up. Haisha's words flashed through his mind, giving his determination a direction. "If I can't use my Treasure… I will learn sorcery, no matter what it takes!"