Tides Of Protomis XXIX-

Return To Yamato.

Nighttime over the Caribbean, the moonlight reflected over the Crisp blue waters. Though, overpowering that, and the sound of the waves. Were the hum of jet engines, and the light from the front of two vessels that flew overhead. Kazimir’s ship, and the Soryu moved in tandem over the sea. As it normally would be, Kazimir sat within the pilot’s seat. Not trusting anyone else to pilot his creation, understandably, considering that nobody there knew how to operate it. Alarick sat in the co-pilot’s seat, looking outside through the window. Zhao sat at the back of the ship, his sheathed sword laying on his shoulder. Jirou sat on the left bench, his hands in his pockets, and eyes closed. Alarick looked over his shoulder, his gaze moving between them all.

“So… I’m guessing we’ll keep hunting after we get back to Yamato.”

Arctaius turned to him, nodding.

“Yeah… It’s best for us to get to their bases as quickly as possible, Never know what they’ll try to pull next.”

Asami perked up, looking directly at him... She wasn’t too happy about that stunt, nor that whole situation, yet, here he was once more, ready to throw himself at some enemies he didn’t know anything about?! She’d seen the results of that three times over now… Perhaps pushing so hard after forming a chasm between them wasn’t the beast idea, but, even so, at this point.

“Why can’t we just go back to how it used to be…”

She remembered it like yesterday. 2012, their first year of elementary school. Though he was still his withdrawn self, he always made time for her and vice versa. If he wasn’t alone, or with the other’s, he was with her… Her abrasive act was something she never liked very much. She wanted, no, she NEEDED to reconnect with him. And that wasn’t something she could do if he... Her thoughts stopped there, as she scooted closer to him.

“Oh no, They might be able to go hunting for them, You aren’t... I’ve had to cover for you all this time!”

Arctaius’ gaze shot toward her as he heard that.

“It's not like I asked for you to cover for me. It wouldn't have been a surprise that I wasn't here. You honestly could have just left it at that.”

Asami leaned forward.

“The fact that you know that isn't a good thing!!”

As Arctaius opened his mouth to speak, he was interrupted by a ringing sound. Something Arctaius realized was his holo-phone. He grabbed it from his pocket, and, the display popped up. The name “Tsumotsu Koeda” Was Displayed. Arctaius tapped the display, accepting the call.

“What is it…”

For a moment, it was silence, as Tsumotsu leaned back into his seat.

“I talked to Premier green… The Kaemerge have moved out of their former bases, they were all abandoned…”

Arctaius’ eyes widened in surprise as he heard these words.

“What?!”

Zhao’s gaze fell to the floor below him.

“That can’t be.” He mumbled.

Alarick gritted his teeth, balling his fists. His eyes narrowed as he slammed his fist onto the dashboard in his rage. Though the ship shook, the dashboard, luckily, did not break.

“Dammit!! Back to square one!” Alarick yelled.

Jirou Shook his head.

“And here I was thinking that we could end this quickly… “

Elsewhere, Zhao put his hand on his chin.

“I suppose after what happened in Niopolis and Kingston, they decided it was time to get moving.” He offered.

“Exactly. We don't have any specifics, we just know that they're gone. Other than this fact, they've been able to move undetected for a while now, as you all know... Meaning that some officials in the world's governments may be collaborating with them.“

Arctaius was silent. He said nothing for quite a bit. Even so, one could sense that his mood had changed. Calm on the surface, but seething just under that...

“Thanks for the update. We'll use this information as best as we can.”

Arctaius than tapped the display, closing it out. He looks down, the ship’s floor filling his eyes… For a few moments, he sat immoble, until, his brows furrowed, and his face turned into a grimace. He slammed his fist on the wall- the ship shook as a result... He was pissed, that was for sure… How could he have not seen this coming?!

“Bastards… Who the hell would work with the Kaemerge... Just what is their end goal?! If they're that involved with them, there's no possible way they wouldn't know of their deeds by now!!”

Just beside him, Asami snapped out of her stupor, inching closer to Arctaius once more... She eyed Arctaius’ arm, before wrapping hers around his.

“Corde… Calm down- I get that your angered but- that's no reason to-”

Her statement was left unfinished, as Arctaius yanked his arm away, as his head shot over to her. Something that made her recoil.

“Calm Down, Calm down?! Who are you to tell me to calm down… You didn't have your family ripped from you by those bastards…”

Now, the ship was dead silent. Apparently, it was not something they exactly disagreed with. Asami pulled back, as her eyes went to the ground. It was then that she remembered her father’s words.

“I'm not the best at things like this… but this is my own suggestion- if you really want him to be safe that much… Just make sure he knows it. He's a bit of a wild spirit, to say the least, so he will resist quite a bit. But I suppose that's what you'd expect from somebody like him. He's been like that since you all were kids after all.”

Asami looked back at the scowling man, keeping her gaze on him. Seemingly unbeknownst to him, as he said nothing about it.

“This was what dad was talking about.” She thought.

She closed the distance once more, placing her arms around his once more, something that made him gaze at her once more. Now, the two sat there for a few seconds, continuing this exchange, until Arctaius' expression seemed to soften, as he simply allowed this to continue, before moving his gaze elsewhere.

“No matter how I look at it… in a way, he's right.. that doesn't mean I can't try to help him…”

The silence returned… Kazimir looked over his shoulder. Until he finally decided to break it.

“Well, with that out of the way. We still have the kaemerge to worry about, you know…”

Beside him, Alarick shook his head.

“That’s the closest those two have gotten to not arguing when we’re around, was there really a need to interrupt that?”

Arctaius glanced at him.

“Quiet, Half-pint… As Rhuskov said, we still have them to worry about.”

Now, the one in the ship who was strangely quiet, finally opened his eyes once more. Leaning forward in his seat.

“Agreed… But, if we don’t know where they are, there are other things we can discuss. For example, we haven't done so in a while, So let’s start talking about our next fight.”

Seemingly, Arctaius had calmed down, at least a bit.

“Alright then, Tomorrow sound good?”

Jirou: Yeah.

Asami sputtered as she heard this exchange take place.

“Do you all love fighting that much?! You just raided a base yesterday! how much more do you need?” She questioned. Arctaius glanced at her once more.

“As much as necessary…”

Soon after, Kazimir looked forward once again, swiping his hand against the aircraft's controls, and something that was followed by a pale blue display projecting from it. On it, was a map, showing Kazimir the area surrounding the ship. He glanced over his shoulder once more.

“It looks like we’re almost back to Tokyo.”

“Good… I’ve been waiting to get home so I could…” Arctaius began to trail off as he remembered an important fact. One that could easily destroy his plans. Zhao looked up, focusing his gaze on the youth, with a raised eyebrow.

“ Get home so you could what?”

Arctaius placed his hand on his forehead.

“I Just remembered… My apartment building was destroyed when I fought that Yuutaro guy…So I can't go home- or do what I planned…”

He lifted his head up, as he screamed to the heavens.

“DAMMIT!!!!!!!”

To Be Continued