The stench! The salty, slimy, mildew smell rolled out in waves, not unlike the scent that Ringo got big whiffs of every pre-sunrise during her drills down by the Annitou docks. The difference, of course, was that this odor came from the unwashed masses and nefarious evildoers, whereas her home country’s smell was the one of righteous hard work and national pride.

“How can national pride have a smell?” Teammate Hajime took a break from reviewing his clipboard to glance over at the diminutive Ringo, interrupting her mid-diatribe. “Hard work, yeah, sure, sweat and all that. Pride can’t have a smell though.”

“Sir!” Ringo huffed and did not divert her attention from the men and women disembarking from the ship they were inspecting. “You would know it if you smelled it, sir!”

“Hey, kids!” One of the sailors shouted down at the three young children standing at the disembark site of the vessel. “Another load coming your way, tell your boss he needs to pick up the pace!”

That earned a collective groan from Team Gou, who despite their crisp uniforms and professional demeanor, were still just a bunch of twelve to fourteen year olds in cadet training. Somewhere behind Ringo and Hajme crouched another boy, head in between his hands in exhaustion. “Boy, I sure can’t get enough of these ten to twelve hour immigration shifts.” Gekko, the third and least excited member of the triad, breathed his words out from between heavy sighs. “Thank goodness the proud country of Annitou has committed so many resources to protecting the valuable land of...” he glanced at Hajime’s clipboard to look for the name of the island. There was no information to be found there, however, as his teammate’s important immigration documents were covered with nothing but doodles of sea creatures.

“Jinchi, the Isle of Ash!” Ringo chirped. “Sovereign soil of Annitou of the Waves! All explorers, researchers, traders, and layabouts are therefore under Annitou rule, and must comply with Annitou (and it’s world class military outfits) orders!” She went on for a bit like this, as Ringo was wont to do, while Hajime ignored her and Gekko became very interested in one of the buttons on his uniform. Her memorized recitation of the Annitou Creed came to an abrupt stop as her voice suddenly shifted tone and pitch, rising up to pierce above the normal hubbub of the dock’s bustling bodies.

The small girl thrust an accusing finger forward at one of the passengers shuffling off the ship along its narrow gangway. “That man is a foreign Agent! Sir! Sir!” Ringo stomped forward while her other two teammates were trying to catch up from the sudden shift in activity. “We need to see your immigration papers!”

The grisly looking man with a braided beard uttered something under his breath before rapidly weaving his way through the crowd. He pulled his long greasy coat around himself tighter as if to ward off the cadets, as if that would help! Smelling the blood in the water Ringo pulled out a small wooden baton from her belt, similar to those used by Annitou’s civilian police forces. She began aggressively poking people in the way with her 'peacekeeping' weapon to try to separate out a path towards her target. “Don’t try to hide! I memorized every face on the dossier, you’re from Metsina! Show your papers!”

Those words seemed to trigger a response in lagging Hajime, who then frantically flipped through the papers on his clipboard to confirm. A poor hand drawn image, partially covered by a doodle of a squid, flopped into view. Sure enough the description of the man Ringo now harassed was on the list of potential aggravators. Braided beard, short stature, slight limp... Hajime quickly read through the small amount of information present and his face went from mildly concerned to outright panic attack as he got to the bottom of the page.“Oh no, oh no no no. Ringo!” Hajime’s voice cracked out through the sea of bodies. “Don’t- Gekko, go get General Gou!” The boy grabbed his trusty nearby spear, which was scarcely more than a regular barbed fishing harpoon. Gekko’s face emerged from his hands and shifted from a look of boredom to one of annoyance. The boy did not look amused at having to take an order. With a sigh Gekko obliged anyway and pushed off from his well warmed seat, disappearing into the crowd opposite of the way Hajime now pushed himself towards.

The young Hajime was head and shoulders below most of the adults making their way off the dock, which made his progress slow and halting. His own boyish appearance certainly didn't inspire much respect in passerbyes, though he was sure he was just a few years of puberty away from getting that chisled jawline and muscular physique that would command respect. For now he would have to squeeze what goodwill he could out of his round, babyish cheekbones and childlike face. Ringo and the bearded culprit had already disappeared from view, but the girl’s chirping voice could be heard shouting orders and gave the boy a good idea where to go. Maybe it would be okay. Maybe Ringo wouldn’t instigate a fight again and this could all be resolved peacefully. Maybe this guy actually had his papers and wasn’t illegally sneaking in to smuggle out artifacts like the last thirty foreign Agents they’d confronted. He reminded himself to not fall into despair so easily. Things could always get better! Hajime’s first mentor had been an optimist and those hopeful thoughts always gave him comfort in the most dire of situations.

That was good because his boundless optimism seemed to land him in a lot of trouble recently. A swirling mass of wooden splinters shot into the air and panicked screams broke out, thinning the crowd considerably as the otherwise innocent bystanders hastened to separate themselves from the sudden violence. The dock itself, unlike most normal docks on Annitou, was fairly wide to accommodate the size of Jinchi’s most common exports- people and looted artifacts. That gave the large number of disembarking passengers room to spread out as parts of the wooden structure began to crack and explode into the air. Hajime couldn’t see the target just yet but Ringo’s voice did suddenly shift from a commanding tone to a far less intelligible series of panicked shouts. Hajime watched helplessly from his own location as the small but recognizable body of Ringo rose up above the crowd. The girl was easy to spot, as the Annitou cadet uniform barely fit her, and she wore her black hair in the short, blunt style that the Annitou military preferred.

Also it helped she was flying. Flying? No, no- Ringo was being HURLED! The girl wailed as she tumbled through the air and fell clean off the dock. Not even a single bystander tried to catch or stop her trajectory. That was expected as nearly every civlian there was from another country entirely and wouldn't be caught dead helping an Annitou soldier. A small garbled splash was immediately followed by Ringo’s signature chirpy voice, cut off intermittently from her words being garbled by seawater. “Sir, he’s dangerous!”

Knowing that didn’t keep the boy from his duty. Rather, it only made him that much more resolute.Any risk was worth taking for his homeland! Hajime’put more power into his stride and his sandals slammed into the dock as he charged forward. Nothing could stop the advance of an Annitou sailor!

As soon as he put his best foot forward the wood at his feet splintered and fell away without any warning, as if he had stomped on an eggshell. This caused Hajime to stumble, yet the cadet seemed prepared for this too! As the structure crumbled underfoot he jammed his spear into the hard, undamaged sections of the dock, using it like a walking stick to stop himself from tumbling down. He easily cleared the first hole, and the second, quickly making up ground as he passed the burbling noises of Ringo trying to tread water in the ocean below.

Reading wasn’t Hajime’s strong suit but he certainly knew enough to check the most important stuff first. Any good soldier knew the two most important things to remember about an Agent was their name and their jutsu. The world was a big place and its peoples full of different talents and abilities- some were harmless, and some were downright nightmarish, but all could be understood even by a child like himself. In Annitou history a person’s jutsu was said to come as a gift from their god, the Leviathan. Not everyone was born with such power, so to be blessed with one often meant one's life would be full of hardship. Hajime didn’t know if he believed that but as he dodged another collapsing section of dock it was hard to understand why a deity would bestow so many random supernatural abilities to people. Ringo's jutsu certainly didn't seem much to write home about, and his own was barely worthwhile enough to get him in the Annitou navy.

And this guy, this Agent he was now chasing, couldn't do anything but melt wood! How was that a divine power, exactly?! Well, the Leviathan worked in mysterious ways. Or at least that's what Gekko was always saying.

Hajime had already forgotten the man’s name but this jutsu was already seared in his mind, as all cadets were taught to do. Using his spear the boy easily leapfrogged the sections of dock the man weakened and closed the gap right as the target was right at the edge of the crowd, seeking safety in its numbers. Both the man’s feet were bare- the method of his jutsu requiring physical contact in order to degrade the dock beneath. Hajime made a mental note to keep his wooden spear shaft outside the reach of agent as he leveled it at the man.

“You are ordered under Annitou law number...I mean, international treaty of the year nine hundred and sixty...uh...whatever, just stop, okay!” The man ignored Hajime and kept trying to push his way forward. Shoot. Hajime quickly made the executive decision to resort to force, because he couldn't think of anything else. Leaping forward Hajime swung his spear in a sweeping motion at the man's feet, hoping to trip him rather than cause any actual damage. Instead the Agent snapped his own foot out in a half spin. The bare foot of the Agent caught Hajime's weapon easily and deflectedit hard enough to send the spear spiraling out of Hajime’s hands. Double shoot! But somewhat expected- the man had completely hurled Ringo into the sea moments before.

It wasn’t enough to just rely on one’s jutsu- most of these foriegn agents were in peak physical condition as well. As an Agent-in-training Hajime wasn't quite at that level. Nowhere near it, actually, as became apparent as soon as the confrontation esclated.

Two hands thrust out to grab Hajime by the scruff of his Annitou cadet uniform. Hajime found himself face to face with the Agent now, the man’s scarred face drawing close enough to Hajime for hom to get a big whiff of an odor even worse than the one before. No wonder he set off Ringo’s radar! A mighty force lifted the boy off his feet as it became clear the man’s intention was to send Hajime on the same path Ringo travelled just before. Unfortunately Hajime weighed quite a bit more than Ringo (“It’s muscle, okay?!”) and wouldn’t be so easy to toss aside. That realization bought a chance of heart to the Agent; rather than dunk the lad in the ocean, he instead pulled an arm back and sought to punch the boy's lights out instead.

With a grunt he landed the blow on Hajime’s skull with ease and rattling every sense the young cadet could hold onto. Another dire situation indeed! As the skin split from a second blow and his vision began to black out, Hajime’s inner optimist looked for a light at the end of the tunnel. A little voice chirped out in his head, sounding something like ‘just reach out and the answer will be there’. This wasn't helpful in the slightest but that summed up most of Hajime's misadventures, so he did it anyway.

With his free hand he thrust his palm out, ready to catch what fate was giving him. As if by magic his fingers wrapped around the shaft of a wet, but clearly familiar item- his spear! Hajime always did better acting before thinking and in the next moment the weapon’s pointy tip slid forward. At least, where the pointy tip should have been- the Agent's previous kick had dissolved the shaft so the boy only swung half a weapon now. However, somehow, this worked to Hajime's advantage- with a shorter weapon he was able to jab the remnants of his spear's shaft into the man's throat. The attack didn't break the man's skin but still sent him reeling back, as a crushed trachea tends to do. Hajime also fell back and staggered, forced to use his broken weapon as support rather than continue the offensive. His scrambled senses tried to make sense of what was happening. Did he win? Where had his spear come from? What was that awful smell? As he looked downwards with spinning eyes he could swear that he was staring right at the bobbing severed head of his teammate Ringo, floating in the ocean below.

The dismissive attitude of her teammate really seemed to really get on Ringo’s nerves, despite her waterlogged predicament. Below the dock and frantically treading salty water swam Ringo, shouting out through the hole in the dock as best she could in her small voice. Her words came out exhausted, as might have been expected given how fast she had to swim there. “Sir, he’s going to get away!” She gestured wildly to try and get Hajime back on task. Again babbling between mouthfuls of sea water, Ringo renewed her yelling. “Don’t think about it, just get going!”

Seconds later Hajime connected the dots as his brain sorted itself out after all those blows. It all came together for him now. Lone wolf agents like this man never counted on what mattered most. What had given him the upper hand was...the power of friendship! Ringo hated it when Hajime called it that and preferred he call it 'additional military support', but whatever you called it, Hajime knew he had plenty of it. The man’s jutsu from before had left a multitude of holes in the dock just perfectly sized for someone with Ringo’s tiny limbs to slip through, and through such a hole she had thrown Hajime's spear back to him. Classic Ringo, slipping in unnoticed when the enemy least expected it! Once again the bounty of the sea had graced Annitou’s soldiers with luck. Annitou’s Leviathan hadn’t abandoned them yet!

Hajime regained enough sense to take a triumphant step forward. The man was stumbling now, the wound from Hajime’s spear slowing him enough to make pursuit viable. This was Team Gou’s chance to shine! Filled with renewed energy Hajime dug in deep and prepared to launch himself at the fleeing man. Spear in hand, heart full of courage, and filled with determination he took one mighty step forward. Instantly the extra force cracked the wood at his toes and an entire gaping hole opened up below. Without even enough time to yelp Hajime collapsed downwards onto Ringo, who had plenty of time to scream. The two tumbled into the sea with an incompetent sounding splash.

“Sir, sir,” Ringo sputtered, trying to untangle herself from the flailing Hajime. “Didn’t you read the dossier?! He has been corroding the wood he touches, you can’t put too much force on it!”

“I know, I know!” Hajime’s optimism kicked in, reminding him that it was a good thing they were both struggling to stay afloat so that nobody could see how embarrassed he was. “Just, help me get back up!” Each footstep he heard on the dock above was like nails being driven into a coffin. Even with his injury Hajime could hear the Agent making a quick getaway. The culprit has bested the mighty friendship powers of the Annitou Navy! There was no way Gekko had gotten in touch with Gou yet, and on top of it the dude might just destroy the entire dock on his way out, endangering all the other people Hajime had swore to protect (assuming they had the proper papers). This would not bode well for promotion, and also it would be bad if people got hurt, in that exact order of importance. It was nothing short of a disaster!

It wasn’t common for Annitou citizens to look upwards for a miracle. Nothing good tended to come from the sky in their country. The sea provided everything the island nation needed, whereas the heavens tended to just drop typhoons and seagulls on them. Yet where he now stood (swam) Hajime could do nothing but look up at the blue sky above through the crooked and broken wooden slats of the dock and pray for some kind of divine intervention. It was a bit shameful having to use the hole he created through his own ineptitude to do so, but another one of Hajime’s good points was his short term memory. Life was too dirty and quick to dwell on the past, the only place to live was in the now!

In that wet and smelly now, Hajime stared up and watched the scruffy countenance of foreign Agent flying through the air. Again, not flying- the Agent had been hurled backwards. The man's body tumbled over itself and Hajime heard the dull, heavy clatter as their foe crumbled somewhere on the dock above them. The dock heaved and groaned under the impact as the man sunk into its weakened surface but otherwise stayed quiet. The Agent wasn't moving or trying to stand back up. Had some god answered Hajime's prayers?

The previously tepid, uninvolved crowd suddenly seemed to coalescence into a more unified cheer. “It’s the Ghost of Garion!”

-

Technically, “Ghost” was not a name recognized by the government of Garion. Anyone from the desert country of Garion would also have known better than to address a soldier of Daisuke's rank so flippantly. But, even so, General "Ghost" Daisuke enjoyed the attention. Smoke seemed to drift from the tall soldier’s fingers as he clenched them tightly, his balled fist still pulsing with the energy behind his blow. The Agent he'd sent sprawling lay unmoving just a short distance away. Daisuke had been aiming to plop the man right back down into the hole with those two Annitou cadets but, ah, well, fate didn't always pan out like you wanted.

At fiirst glance, Daisuke might have just looked like any other one of the crowd, with his casual attire and otherwise ease with which he held himself. He stood taller than most others at his young age of twenty four, though not an insignificant portion of that was thanks to some decorative sandals and the rather broad shouldered robes he preferred to wear. It wasn't at all like the billowy cloaks and swaddlings common to those from his native land of Garion, where the desert climate required dressing in lighter colors to reflect the sun’s harsh rays. In additoin Garion’s top brass tended more towards heavier armors. In both cases Daisuke cut against the grain- he wore his favorite green clothing regardless of the weather, and eschewed armor in favor of his tasteful robes. In doing so he somehow managed to piss off everyone back at home. That's just how the Ghost rolls, baby!

He jerked his head back a bit to get some of his non-regulation standard length hair out of his face and shot a knowing wink into the still stunned bystanders. “Ladies and gentlemen,” an affable and controlled voice came out from behind the man who just sent the foreign agent flying. “Please remain calm and make your exit. The situation has been...”

“Ah!” Clawing her way out of the hole before Hajime, the distinctive chirping of Ringo once again peeked out into the air. “General Hashimoto Daisuke of Garion!” The small girl’s head whipped around towards the now fallen and apparently incapciated target. Assessing that the man no longer posed a threat, she immediately went back to work and laser focused her attention on the robe-wearing Daisuke that stood before her. “Present your papers, Sir! No foreign Agents are allowed on Annitou soil without permission!”

“How the heck- hey, watch your feet-” Hajime joined Ringo as they both tried to escape the sea at the same time. “-can you even tell?”

There wasn’t time for Ringo to delve into the vast intricacies of the dress code that Hajime routinely ignored, so she opted for the short version. “Read the dossiers sometime, Sir!”

Feeling confident the situation had been disarmed, Daisuke relaxed out of his fighting stance and tucked both his arms back into his robe in a very casual, unsoldierly way. “I didn’t arrive on any of these ships, little Miss. I just happened to be passing by-”

“Prove it!” Ringo grunted as she leaned through the hole to help pull Hajime up. Both were dripping wet and bits of seaweed and other under-dock garbage clung to their soldier uniforms, cutting a visually distinct and unflattering image next to the still pristine but civilian clothed Daisuke. “No soldier would be- heavens, Sir, you are heavy- getting involved in a physical altercation without reason!”

“Hey, Ringo,” Hajime huffed as he tried to catch his breath. “He did just KO that Agent, we should listen-”

“He’s not authorized to be on the dock!” Ringo snapped back.

“Like I said," Daisuke's words became a bit less patient. "I arrived a week ago-”

“Oh, yeah, well,” Hajime groaned, getting back up on two legs and hoisting his spear to his side. “The dock is off limits unless you have papers. Do you have your papers? We'll have to search you otherwise, sir-" Hajime squinted, still unsure if his senses had recovered fully. "Or madam. Man, he has long hair. Are you sure he's a general, Ringo?”

Adults were in short supply on Jinchi, apparently. Daisuke sighed and gave the spectators a loose shrug. “Listen, kids, I appreciate you cadets being so gung-ho, so let’s not make a big scene. I’m here on vacation, hence, you know,” he gestured to his outfit. “No weapons or anything. Just get your boss, he’ll know me-”

“Present your documentation!” Ringo wrung out part of her uniform but didn’t let up on the pressure. Despite their apparent focus on drying off, both of the Annitou cadets were actually discretely edging their way towards Daisuke. In its own way it was clever, more than one would have expected out of kids under the employ of backwoods island country like Annitou. Perhaps they were stalling for time? Daisuke hadn’t intended to involve himself in the police actions of the ruling government on Jinchi, as routing common thugs was a bit below his pay grade. Generals like himself were some of the highest ranking officers, a position sought after by nearly every soldier in the known world. They stood as a testament of their respective country’s power and influence. On top of that, across the map Garion’s generals were known for being some of the nastiest pieces of work in the business. Garion itself was almost entirely a wasteland but boasted considerable military power, reflected by the rigid and despotic government that held the reins. Crossing paths with a Garion soldier often meant leaving bloody- or in a body bag.

This particular general cut the exact opposite image, much to the chagrin of his allies. Hashimoto Daisuke, otherwise known as the Ghost for his ability to somehow never be caught (by his own government or otherwise) for his flagrant flaunting of convention, was one of the youngest generals in the Garion military. While his clothing might suggest he was concealing a bulkier, more powerful build, Daisuke himself was actually much thinner and dexterous that he let on. It was all part of building that mystique. A little bit of trickery and tease got him farther than it had any right too. While his muscles were well built for his kind of work, Daisuke was not superhuman like many in the General rank tended to be. He possessed just enough strength to get done what he needed. It showed in his skin as well, which was much lighter than the usual sun darkened tones that adorned the common folks of Garion. Some might mistake that for an aristocratic upbringing but Daisuke certainly never revealed anything backing that up. Long brown hair tied into a braided ponytail reached down to his shoulders, and just enough facial stubble adorned his cheeks to age him up a bit and stop the grey haired elder statesmen from calling him ‘kid’ anymore. In situations like these, though, that youthful appearance meant more trouble than it was worth.

“Impersonating an officer is even worse than invading a sovereign nation!” Ringo and Hajime now stood right before Daisuke, their short stature even more exaggerated by the way the weight of their soggy clothes flattened out their posture. “Sir, tell him!”

“Uh, yeah. Just comply and we’ll sort it all out, Mister Ghost sir, or whatever.” Hajime kept his own focus on the man’s green eyes. Despite Ringo’s bluster she seemed to be keeping her attention places other than the Garion soldier, while Hajime’s blundering outward appearance concealed his actual focus on the task at hand. Was it all an act, or did the boy move on instinct, or was Annitou just training their children differently these days? Daisuke felt more amused than threatened and he feigned a few steps back, as if worried about a sudden attack. In comparison to the military juggernaut of Garion, Annitou might as well have been a child. The island nation didn’t have to worry about fending off attacks from outsiders, with their only real competition being pirates and the occasional international tiff over export taxes. Most agents working outside their country had to exercise extreme caution and flexibility, but Annitou soldiers were renowned for their almost suicidal adherence and loyalty to their country and their bumbling, rural unsophistication. What a joke that the legendary island of Jinchi happened to show up right within the borders of the weakest nation on the planet!

Loyalty was something you could only afford when you didn’t have any real enemies. Garion’s laws and punishments might be severe, but there was a certain freedom that came with holding power as well. The ‘Ghost’ knew all too well about that- after all, who could be more free than a high ranking official in a place where might made right? Thus even as the cadets moved towards him Daisuke felt no pressure to retaliate. He thought so little of Annitou that he reckoned he could handle this situation blind if he had to.

A small set of fingers snatched out at his wrist as Ringo tried to pull Daisuke’s arms out of his pockets. “Please comply with the search request, Sir!” Being touched broke him out of his reflective thoughtfulness, and with a new tone of agitation Daisuke tried to shake the girl loose. “Hey, kids, let’s not do anything drastic-”

“He’s resisting arrest!” Ringo howled, “Nobody innocent would fight back, he must be an imposter!”

Hajime’s brow furrowed as the fairly obvious conclusion of this became apparent to him. There would be no good ending if this situation escalated. But you couldn’t leave a teammate hanging! The power of friendship sometimes came with drawbacks if your friends also happened to make a lot of bad life choices.

“Right behind you, dude!” Hajime’s voice cracked out and he threw himself at Daisuke, trying to topple the man over with a sprinting tackle. Even if it meant charging into sure defeat, the Annitou Cadet Academy made sure to pound one idea into the skulls of every recruit: no matter the odds, serving your country came first. Not that Hajime needed to be indoctrinated. Wasn’t endangering yourself for a friend the coolest thing ever anyway?

A sharp exhale escaped Daisuke’s lips and for a fraction of a moment, the combined attempts of Ringo and Hajime to unbalance him seemed almost to catch him off guard. The sandals on his feet weren’t built for resisting movement like a good pair of military boots, and the loose flaps of his robes didn’t provide any protection like a padded coat might. Yet in the next instant his stance shifted, drawing his center of gravity lower and drawing his posture wide as to retain balance against the combined toppling force of the children. Kids were just kids after all. These two needed another dunk in the ocean, apparently! With his own heaving grunt Daisuke twisted one arm around Hajime, then dug the fingers of his other palm into the collar of Ringo. Were they adults he might have just walloped them across the face like he had done to the other man, but soldiers or not you just didn’t break the skulls of children-

Both the kids shot each other a momentary, telling glance. Something was up. From between the two cadets shot out the blunt end of Hajime’s spear as he and Ringo separated just enough to let it pass beneath their arms. Its trajectory had even been concealed by their positioning- a planned move from the start! What cheeky brats. They had entangled themselves in Daisuke’s arms to prevent a block, and in the end four pairs of arms outnumbered the general’s two. Both Ringo and Hajime pushed the weapon forward with the intent on jamming it into Daisuke’s more tender bits, probably a kidney or below the belt blow based on what was available. No pointy end to worry about, thank goodness. Daisuke really didn't feel like getting stitches while on his vacation.

Yet In this line of work a moment of mercy could spell disaster, as the runts would soon find out. Daisuke braced his legs and changed his push into a pull. His arms snapped together and with a sudden and comical thud, the two kids wrapped around each arm also smashed together right in the path of the thrusting spear. The two cadets bonked heads and bounced away from each other, the spear clattering down between them as it fell from their grip. Both clutched their heads in pain and emitted differently pitched, but still very much similar sounding cries of anguish. Daisuke exhaled slowly through his nostrils and tried not to smile. You could always count on kids to pull something unthinkable out of the hat at the last possible moment.

His simultaneous disabling of the cadets hadn’t been very cleanly executed, though. Seawater from the kids’ bodies had soaked into his robes! As the stench of the water beneath the dock threatened to stain his only good set of clothes Daisuke let out a dismissive little hiss. He would have to wear that dumb black robe he bought if he didn’t get that liquid out fast. That is just what he deserved for getting involved in close combat, even if it was with children. It wasn’t his style anyway and certainly didn’t mesh with his true abilities. Feeling as though he had completely neutralized the children he moved to brush some of the slime off his sleeve. That dumb girl had gotten some kind of weed or gunk on him in her futile attempt to restrain his arm. If this was Garion both these cadets would have spent a month in military prison for assaulting a superior officer...

As Daisuke brushed his palm across his sleeve some of the excess moisture splashed out between his fingers. That was expected as it was the entire point of the action, to remove the unwanted goo. From that motion also came a momentary, mundane sphere, a tiny pearl of greenish nothing apparently formed by the gross nature of the dock’s churning waters below. Nothing more than a quaint scum bubble. General of Garion Hashimoto Daisuke had been to many places and done many things even in his young lifespan, but in those reeling catalogs of experiences the man was ultimately a citizen of a desert nation and didn’t have many memories of sea life.

And so, in that single moment of time, it didn’t seem unreasonable for that bubble to appear from the simple act of brushing his arm. Not even worth writing home about, of course. Maybe that’s just how seawater worked sometimes! He continued to clean himself of gunk, dismissing the bubble as anyone else would.

One could even be forgiven for assuming what happened next might have been pure coincidence. The shed bubble, ignored by a grand General of Garion, floated out of sight while the man continued straining liquid from his sleeve. The nasty thing spiraled up a bit in the tropical sun, and seemed to linger purposefully above him like a hungry fly. Then it plunged straight down with far more gravity than any mere bubble ought to possess. Its path landed it right into Daisuke’s eye, propelled by some otherwise unseen force, where it popped in a rather mundane but still incredibly unpleasant fashion.

As mighty as Daisuke liked people to believe he was, the solider was still very much human. He wasn’t impervious to receiving a bit of errant debris in his eye and, as any normal person would do, he instinctively clenched it shut and tried to wipe the offending particle out with his hand. He didn't even register the bubble as anything but an unlucky inconvenience.

A single moment of mercy could spell disaster, as the General quickly found himself remembering a second later.

From their seemingly defeated position below both the cadets sprung back to life at the very second Daisuke moved to wipe his eye. This maneuver too was something the pair had practiced as their timing matched up perfectly. Each lunged after one of Daisuke’s knees and hurled their whole body weight into the attempt. Even for kids of their size and stature, a well placed strike could do wonders! As both the otherwise harmless masses collided with Daisuke's leg, the partially self-blinded Daisuke felt his center shift, then lurch, and finally pass the point of no return.The conclusion came to him as he felt his body fall backwards precariously. That hadn’t just been some dumb bubble- it absolutely must have been the jutsu of one of these kids!

Well, then the gloves were off, weren’t they? As he began to fall back Daisuke twisted his arm back around and focused, not on anything external or at the world around him, but on something inside. If these brats wanted to cross paths with a son of Garion, they were about to get it-

Daisuke's sudden descent was stopped short as his head banged up against some kind of immovable rock hard wall. The rest of his body followed, collapsing not onto the wooden dock but instead at an angle against this mysterious chunk of hardened steel that now kept him upright. Two large monster hands grabbed Daisuke by the shoulders and pushed him back onto his feet (kids in tow and all) as easily as one would lift a pillow, and at once all three of the fueding soldiers became swathed in the massive, broad shadow of a beast.

Once again the peanut gallery provided all the necessary context of the new player on the dock's rapidly shrinking stage. “General Gou! It's Annitou's General Gou!” Unlike with Daisuke, this name-dropping came thick with the emotion of fear. Daisuke glanced up at the imposing face now staring several feet above his own, the titanic form of the world (in)famous General Gounomouno staring down like an owner would to a disobedient dog.

“Yo, Gou.” Daisuke’s earlier animus seemed to evaporate as he felt himself set upright by the man’s enormous strength. “Been a while, hasn’t it?”

“We’ve never met.” Gou growled. The Whale of Annitou was known for his implacable, inpersonable nature, kind of the opposite of Daisuke. Gou’s adherence to enforcing Annitou law was lethally precise and always on point. Not a soul would break the rules under his careful watch. “I expect there to be a good reason for my dock getting torn to shreds by foriegn agents.”

“There is one!” Ringo chirped.

“Maybe two!” Hajime chimed in, for the third time that morning finding himself tossed to the ground and having to stand back up on increasingly shaky legs.

“Then,” Gou’s wide set eyes stared unblinking at the harbor around him, taking in every detail he could. For such a large man his eyes seemed to lock onto his surroundings with extreme focus, as if he was looking beyond just what was visible to the naked eye. “Let’s hear it back at the station.”