Chapter Five - Compromise - Asuya
I woke up after my five hours and Kiname was already up. First, I looked at the time on the bed-side clock provided on the nightstand and it read: 5:34 am. Then, I looked over to Kiname and he was sitting cross-legged on his bed, but something was wrong! His body looked like it was bubbling! I squeaked when I fully grasped that I wasn't dreaming and he opened his eyes and looked at me, smiling. "Relax, Asuya. This is how Sil train our bodies," he explained in a calm tone. I stared at him with utter confusion on my face. "I'm sorry what?" I asked with a high chance of dumbfoundedness just... saturating my features and body language.
Kiname chuckles and explains, "Sil have full control over all muscles in our bodies, down to the very sinew. Why do you think we naturally fight so well? To maintain peak strength, speed and Munakou control, we have to train by moving each and every sinew in a random order as fast as we can until reaching one-hundred percent. No cutting corners and with full concentration."
My dumbfoundedness was not sated by his explanation, but I decided to give it a go. I adjusted my robes and other things---like my hair... and sat cross-legged on my bed as well and went to work. The strange thing was, I could feel proprioception far beyond human capacities when I began to concentrate like he explained. Then I felt myself moving all of my sinews! I could tell Kiname was timing me and I could also hear within his thoughts that his record was fourty-three seconds. I immediately tried to beat that record and found that midway through this strange training, I was exhausted, sweating like a bucket of water was poured on me. Okay, that was an exaggeration, but still! I decided to control that with my newfound abilities over water, but it was coming out so fast, because I was overheating! Due to all of this, I finished in a minute and five seconds.
Kiname blinked, then had an impressed expression on his face. "That's actually not bad, Asuya. The Original Five all were near two minutes," he explained.
Now I really had to ask this question, "Say, how do you know so much about Sil? I mean, you had a headstart, but the font of knowledge came from somewhere, right?"
He smiled and asked a question in return, "You do remember Dimiki, the Mithic of Tricks and Illusions in my memories, right? He informed me. He didn't tell me per say, but he played a game with me and when I won---I'm sure he let me win---he poked my forehead with his index finger and I knew everything I needed to know." He paused and frowned a bit. "You will be dealing with him soon. Quite a bit I might add. You'll have to really get use to his antics."
I took a moment to take that all in after that exhausting training method and then smiled a bit. "I see. I have other questions: Why do we smell so good? What is our home planet called? What exactly is Munakou? Why was Dalada "shattered" as you put it? ...I think that about covers my list of queries for the moment. We have time to kill before we have to get ready to meet Bobby again, so we might as well get those out of the way..."
Now it was Kiname that was looking flabbergasted. He then chuckled, before doing his best to answer each question, "We smell so good due to what we are made of. Our scent is unique to each Sil, males having a more savory sweet smell and females having a more fruity sweet smell and each scent is adaptive to who partakes of it, catering to their wants and desires more, but instinctively, our scent is extremely diminished, if not completely gone in combat so we cannot be tracked when we move. Outside of combat, it's just for charm and general adaptability. Even when we sweat, we do not accumulate these... microbes and germs that seem to enjoy human skin. Such things die if they come near us," he explained. That part was a relief, because I just pretty much wet the bed with my sweat---that seemingly disappeared after a minute or two.
He continued, "Our home planet is called "Nanakigasa". Where the Sil reside is called "Valentia", not to be confused with the city of Valencia in Spain. There is a mystery of the origins of the name "Valentia", but for humans, it means "bravery, courage, strength or vigor"---got that from Dimiki as well since I had the same questions you did." He paused there, looking to see if I was paying attention or had any questions, without speaking.
I simply nodded to him to continue.
"Munakou is a paradox that was being worked on by Dalada, the Mithic of Wrath and Void and Zeminos, the Mithic of Chaos and Malice. Water made the paradox flow correctly and self-healing, Chaos gave it luck, amongst other things, Void gave it the ability to be cold and fast and Dimensional gave the paradox it's power over space and even time, in a sense. I just touched on a few things the paradox gave us, though at that time, the paradox was missing two things: Sentience and a powerful binder to hold such contrasting aspects together. Zeminos did not want it to be sentient, because he wanted to absorb the power for himself once it was finished. War broke out between the Mithics over such a project being worked on by the Mithic of Malice and to end the war, Dalada broke herself apart and used her Mithic shards to give the paradox what it was missing. This is how Sil were created," he said, answering the last of my questions.
"I have one last question, Kiname. What are Mithics?" I asked, tilting my head to my right and raising my right eyebrow a little.
Kiname paused a moment, before saying, "The way Dimiki explained it? Mithics are 'Guardians of the Omniverses'. They protect us from premature entropy that comes in the form of powerful sentient malevolence called 'Beyond Ones'. While Mithics represent aspects that humans can understand? Those are just favorites they enjoy. In reality, they are just extremely powerful and sentient beings that do little to interfere with mortal life. That includes us for now, but Dimiki hinted on our capacity for more than just mere agelessness." He smirked and added, "Anything else you want to know?"
I just sat there, staring at him for a long moment. While I didn't have any particular thoughts in my head, my feelings were giving off ambivalence. Finally, I said, "That is a lot to take in, Kiname. I think I understand, but even so, it's a lot."
He already answered the question as to why I would be Queen of the Sil and why I had to train to fill those shoes, because even now, I wasn't strong enough to beat any of my supposed subjects. Yet.
He just remembered something. He had a pensive expression he directed to the bed he was sitting on, before he looked to me from his thoughts, saying, "Oh, one more thing. Every Sil train themselves for specialties when using Munakou and are born with innate ability to control Munakou in our own way. You will have to learn all of these things about yourself, Asuya. Without knowing such, you stand no chance of beating any of us. No offense."
For the first time in a long time, I felt humbled and I enjoyed that feeling, because it grounded me and it was something Anna Bingley inculcated in my upbringing. I was smiling at Kiname with this weirdly excited smile and he just glared with confusion. "That is a strange emotion I'm getting from you, Asuya," he commented and I just gave a little amused giggle and declared, "Brother, I'm just... excited I have a goal other than the mundane living of my life here. I'm not scoffing at humanity and their ways, but I was getting real bored like this. Then you come along and give me a journey that I feel is worth everything I am! I won't abandon this place and since we are all, but omnipresent? I can always revisit this place... right?" My vocalized thought ended with a question he had to give way to musing.
"I suppose Dimiki will give you breaks from your Queen's Trials, so I don't see why not?" he answered with a faint smile.
I remembered in a mutter under my breath, "One day here for us is one minute everywhere else and you said there is little an existence, dimension, verse or wherever I go, can do about that, right?"
Kiname just nodded while staring at me. "So you were listening," he commented. I wanted to throw something at him, which made him smile. I didn't act on that impulse, but it was there.
We still had a lot of time to kill before having to face Bobby again so Kiname and I talked about our weird origins some more, killing time until the fated hour. I was nervous, because I still enjoyed my life here and did not want to leave it in ruins. I had to be clever with how I deal with Bobby or I may not ever come back to this place.
Chapter Five - Compromise - Harold White
Bobby wanted me at his place for some reason. Like he was keeping his---well, not-friends close and preparing for his enemies. Maybe he knew those vampire he supposedly hired failed or was taking precautions. Well, at least the food was incredible here, because he had a chef that specialized in Sicily's cuisine. In the morning, the chef made for all of us random Granita flavors like coffee, lemon, pistachio and mulberry and some delicious Brioche buns. I could eat everyone's helping of breakfast, but I liked my knees in tact. I sat alone, outside, eating my food. I didn't like sitting with all of those criminals in there.
Soon enough, just like I knew would happen, Asuya came walking towards the place, but she was not alone! There was another one like her coming with her! Even I felt like my pants were gonna become brown when I saw that. Asuya had a smile on her face that became just a bit wider when she read my mind---because I know she did. Her calm and elegant walk lead her straight in front of me. I had just finished my food and was just staring at them both when they got there. The male one asked, "This is your friend, Asuya?" Oof. I got friend-zoned by proxy.
Asuya found me amusing it seemed, because she started laughing quietly. Oh she was so gorgeous. Today, she was wearing this golden dress that strapped around the back of her neck to the front to cover those massive melons of hers, then went down to make a waist-cloth. Then, there was another piece like a black skirt that accented her bottom---something I barely paid attention to until now, but even that was incredibly shaped. It was all tied together with a golden belt that was actually a sash. She had these matching wedges for shoes that looked expensive. Seemed she was digging in on the money she earned or had some stashed away she used to buy these things. The guy with her was wearing a white suit with a red shirt and a golden chain, shades on his eyes that did little to cover the glow of them. He was bigger than every single one of those goombas inside Bobby's home. I simply gestured for them to come on in... it's not like I could stop them anyways. Asuya might've mentioned his name on the way in, but I forgot it almost immediately.
When we came in, all of those doofuses were laughing and having their breakfast without a care in the world, so I decided to walk up first and introduce Asuya and the guy with her. "Hey guys..." They ignored me. "Guys..." Yet again, they ignored me, so I smiled a bit. "WILL YOU MOOKS LISTEN UP?!" That exclamation from me got their attention alright. Especially Bobby. He was getting up with the obvious intent on teaching me a lesson---that is, until Asuya came in behind me and the guy with her, both on each side of me. I continued to smile and said, "We have company."
Everyone froze except Asuya and the guy with her.
Asuya simply reached for some of the lemon Granita, using a butter knife and nabbed a Brioche bun. She then, smeared the lemon deliciousness on there, taking her time in the awkward silence. The guy with her was like a stone statue, not moving an inch now---almost as frozen as the mooks, but I could tell it was not out of fear. Meanwhile, Asuya took a bite and chewed the combination with a smile. "Mmmh, delicious. A Sicilian breakfast is always something I wanted to try. Oh I hope I'm not intruding on your celebration this morning, Bobby? Tell me, what are we celebrating?" Those were the words out of her mouth, which made me slowly look to Bobby to see if he'd answer. Bobby had mulberry on his face, the left corner of his mouth. What a waste. That did make me check my mouth now and I was a damn hypocrite! I had lemon on my face, the right corner. I quickly got that off of my face and ate it off of my finger.
Bobby finally answered her, saying, "...Asuyaaaaaa, hiyadoin'? We was just um... celebratin'... uuuuuuh...---" Asuya cut him off, saying, "Bobby. Listen, water under the bridge, okay? Let's help each other out, hm? I will be taking all of my shares back from you, but you can keep... five perc---" He cut her off, cussing, "Fock you, Asuya. I got doz shares feh and squeh." That, made the guy with Asuya slap Bobby so hard, he spun around---it was like he knew exactly how to hit him to do that! He fell to the floor and was groaning for a few moments, before he slowly got up, bleeding from his mouth. Asuya was just watching him slowly stand, her eyes wide with a matter-of-fact smile, as if waiting for negotiations to continue. The funny thing? Not one of Bobby's goons went to help him or even moved to strike the guy that slapped their don! "You were saying something about 'feh and squeh'?" Asuya asked, mocking him---which made me bust out laughing. I couldn't help it, that was the most personality I've ever seen from her! Bobby was glaring at me, but hey, that was too damn funny! I even heard some of his men snickering, stifling full-on laughs!
"ALL AH YOOS SHUDDUP!" Bobby yelled, which they did go silent, because he was still their don. He looked to Asuya and put his finger in her face and before he could say anything, the guy with Asuya caught his finger, threatening to break it.
"Isn't this what you do to people who steal from you, Bobby? Break their fingers? Do you want my brother, Kiname to break yours?" Asuya asked with a rather polite tone.
Mystery solved. The guy's name was Kiname.
"Let's play it your way, Bobby. Each time you refuse to give me back what is mine---with the exception of five-percent? Kiname here will break a finger." Asuya was being ruthless this morning!
What happened next was like slow-motion. Bobby pulled out his special desert eagle with his off-hand and put it to Kiname's chest and pulled the trigger and the bullet went straight through him! There wasn't even muzzle burn on his chest. Asuya looked to Kiname and SNAP. There went one of Bobby's fingers---his right index that he so carelessly put in Asuya's face. Bobby screamed like he was having a baby and inside, I was dying laughing, something I had to keep quiet!
"C'mon, Bobby... while this is mildly amusing, I'm a business woman. How do you think I got this company off the ground in the first place?" Asuya was being so nice! That made me wonder about that...
Bobby screamed, "SHOOT THEM!" The goombas began an attempt at grabbing their weapons out of various hiding places they had them in the dining room---most of them nervously dropping them---and before they could even get them ready, Asuya looked at them all and made this sound that did not sound human. A loud growl that sounded like a mix between a tiger and a lion! That even made me freeze. I was sure some of those guys crapped their pants. I could smell it! Why the hell was Bobby trying to hold on to Asuya's company so desperately for?! It wasn't worth all of this!
Now, it was Asuya that got in his face. "Let me explain something to you, Bobby. While you are the don of this family? To me, you are expendable and I will get someone willing to play ball and return what was stolen from me and they will receive the five percent."
The next thing that happened blew my mind. Bobby attempted to spit in Asuya's face, which she leaned back and dodged point-blank with speed I couldn't comprehend at the time! Somehow, she made the loogie splat him on his forehead. Now that got everyone laughing in the dining room. Bobby was now a joke to his own men! Was that Asuya's plan? If so, it was a good plan! Bobby never treated his men good and that is why they were all laughing. Even Kiname, the stoic guy with Asuya was smiling faintly.
Asuya was not laughing. I could hear the frustration in her voice when she said, "Last chance, Bobby. Give me back what is mine... agree to it and you live. Don't and I will have my vampire friends pay you a visit and it will be them that will be eating an early breakfast. They don't seem to like you much anyways, considering your loud tactics that threaten to expose them and now that you know too much? You're on their radar as we speak. I could keep them off of you, if you give me back what is mine."
He was about to speak, but she cut him off again, "Before you say I'm bluffing, which I know you were about to? Think about what you've tried against us, think about everything that has transpired until now. Use your brain that I know is up there. I know you found my crystal, the one I use in one of the steps in making my wine and I know you want to sell it to every wine company in the states in pieces and yes, you'd be filthy rich if you did that. The thing is, Bobby, that crystal is created from my power and I can simply cause it to melt and disappear."
That caused Bobby's face to turn a few shades paler, even more so than with his index finger looking like a question mark opposite of the correct direction of the joint! So that is why he was so adamant in keeping Asuya's company... did he really think she didn't know what he truly wanted? What an idiot.
"Call your men that are there now and ask if the crystal is melting or not, Bobby," she said and he frantically grabbed his smartphone and called, keeping the conversation hushed. He stopped talking and was staring at Asuya with his mouth quivering. "Okay, Asuya, make it stop... stop it from melting, I'll give you your company back, but I want ten percent."
Asuya shook her head. "Seven, final offer." Bobby gave a sigh, wiping his own loogie off of his forehead. "Fine," he said with a whimper, giving in. I'm sure his finger hurt real bad...
"You could have spared yourself a lot of embarrassment today, Bobby---all of this could have been avoided. I expect all of the papers in the morning, Bobby or I'll be back and this time, there will be much more violence..." Asuya warned him. "And if you get into anything like human trafficking, drugs or any other heinous crimes of that nature? The deal is off, Bobby. I don't care about you running guns, but I won't stop the authorities from pinching you," she added.
Kiname moved over to Bobby and broke his finger back in place, then it started to glow and the pain disappeared from Bobby's face. They have healing powers?! Now I'm wondering what they can't do!
The goombas went to clean themselves up from their... mishaps in their pants along with Bobby. I went to get some more breakfast. What? It'd take more than brown pants to deter my hunger.
I have a law degree so I might just draw up the papers to make her clause about him doing criminal activity stick. At least all of this is over with now.
I wondered who is going to replace me as CEO?