Chapter 13 – Calm Before the Storm

RIKU AND RAIJIN RAN AWAY as fast as they could from the commotion. Many others fled as well from the scene. When they were sure that they were far enough, they stopped running to catch their breath.

“Why did you do that? I got it under control!” asked Riku as she huffed. “And why are you here?!”

Raijin managed to speak after getting his breathing properly. “Oh, really? Like when you had the sea serpent under control?” asked Raijin condescendingly. “Those guys are bad news. They’re the loan sharks I owe and many people are afraid of them. I was on my way to the harbor when I heard a commotion.”

“Well, they don’t seem to be that of a threat to me,” said Riku gloatingly.

“The man you’ve hit was Sera. He's the youngest of the Shark Brothers. The second eldest, Hammer, is the leader of the Great White Shark. If he hears what happened, they will surely hunt you down.”

“So what? I can deal with them!” Riku was starting to get impatient.

“Let’s not take chances. I do not like them personally.”

“Well, I have to go. I still got to buy some stuff for our travels.”

“What do you guys need?” Raijin curiously asked. “Maybe I can help.”

Luckily, Raijin knew other places aside from the market to buy some necessities for the travels of his elven friends. Raijin accompanied Riku to other stores where they could buy whatever his elven friends needed for their journey.

* * * * *

Jack went to the United Alliance headquarters found on the west side of Port Royale. It seems he was even familiar with the place, almost like he has been there a lot of times. As soon as he went inside the building, he was stopped by a couple of U.A. personnel.

“Identification please.”

“You still needed that from me?”

“We still need to follow the security protocol, Sir Jack.” The personnel chuckled as he explained.

“You guys are strict as ever,” Jack chuckled as well as he showed them some sort of I.D. card. The two personnel quickly let Jack pass through.

The U.A. headquarters in Port Royale was quite decent considering that Port Royale is not even a country. The main building has four floors, and there were three separate compound-like buildings for other purposes.

Jack reached the receptionist. “Hi! Is Captain Torai around?”

“Mr. Jack! Good day. Do you have an appointment with Sir Torai.” asked the receptionist.

“No, not really. He knows why I’m here, though. Just tell him it’s Jack.”

“Just a moment, Mr. Jack.”

The receptionist called the office of Torai. After the call ended, the receptionist faced Jack.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Jack. But Sir Torai seems to be outside as per his secretary.”

“Is that so? Well, thank you for your time. I’ll be on my way now.”

“Umm, don’t you want to wait here in the lobby instead, sir? Sir Torai could be back any minute now.”

“It’s okay. I still have someplace to be anyway.”

As soon as Jack left the headquarters, a man landed a few meters away in front of the building. The man walked towards him and squinted his eyes. “Jack?”

“Always the flashy entrance, Torai.”

Torai and Jack went to the cafeteria to have a talk.

“So, what brings you here? You finally decided to leave the island? Or you’re just visiting like the usual?” asked Torai.

“I left the island. And I’m with my friends,” replied Jack.

“Hahahaha!! That’s good. What’s the point of becoming a Seeker if you do not leave the island, right?”

“Anyway, you got news about my sister?”

“Sorry, there are a lot of elves scattered around the world. My contacts haven’t reported anyone about an elf with durian or jackfruit power.”

“Hmmm…”

“How about your contacts from the Chasers? Shouldn’t they have a better intelligence unit than the main U.A. forces?”

“They’ve got nothing as well. Besides, I really do not like those Chaser bunch.”

“Hahaha! You joined the Chasers even though you do not like the Chasers. That’s new.”

“I only joined to find my sister. My father said that my sister joined the Chaser instead of staying as a Seeker.”

“How did you even manage to become a Chaser before you’ve become a Seeker?”

“That’s a secret.”

“Anyway, I’m kinda curious. Isn’t jackfruit and durian two totally different families of fruits?”

“Well, yeah. It just so happened that my father is a durian user, while my mom has jackfruit powers. I got mine from my mom.”

“Wouldn’t it be neat if you were able to get both?”

Jack simply smiled as he swallowed his food. “Anyway, I have big news for you.”

Torai finished his sandwich and drank his juice. “About what?”

Jack looked around to see if there are anyone who could hear them. When he found it is clear, he told the news to Torai.

“The avatar of Ariyani is here in Port Royale and is now up for grabs.”

* * * * *

The members of Great White Sharks inside Hammerhead Tavern were very rowdy as they prepared. Out of nowhere, the doors slammed open by Sera’s lackey while the other one was assisting him as they entered the tavern. Everyone was surprised at the sight of the wounded Sera.

“Oy! What happened to Sir Sera?!”

“A female elf attacked us! She looked like an assassin pretending as a shopper at the market!” said Sera’s lackey.

“Yeah! She tried to kill Sir Sera, but failed!”

“And then Raijin appeared and helped her escape when Sir Sera was about to kill her!”

From the stairs, Hammer walked down. He was wearing a suit perfect for business.

“Is that true, Sera?”

Sera gulped. “E-Every word, brother Hammer. The kid hired an assassin to kill me.”

The two other lackeys nodded vigorously.

Hammer took a glass from a member. He sat down with Sera and gave him the drink.

“Here, have a drink. You’re shaking.”

Sera took the glass and drank the liquor. “Thanks.”

“Tell me. Isn’t Raijin the young man who still owes us because of his parents’ debt?”

“Y-Yeah, and I’m in charge of that twerp.”

“Looks like he thought that killing you would end his debt.”

“That bastard!” said one of Sera’s lackeys.

Hammer stood up. “Well, not that we need him anymore, but still, no one messes with my brother. We’ll teach that kid a lesson.”

The members cheered and took their weapons, all ready to leave the tavern.

“Say, Sera. What does that kid do for a living again?”

“Ugh...he is a fisherman. He only catches sea monsters though.”

“And what does a fisherman needs to hunt for fishes?”

Sera scratched his head. Hammer sighed and answered his own question.

“A boat, Sera. A fisherman needs a boat to fish. We’ll go to the port and destroy his priced boat. Now come on boys. Let’s have some warm-up before the main event!”

* * * * *

Daisuke was sitting on the roof of the lighthouse. He was looking at Port Royale’s fishing port which was busy as ever. Then he gazed at the central town where there were a lot of tourists and merchants. The view looked a lot like from the observation deck of the shrine of Maria, which made Daisuke miss the Yora Village.

He wondered how was everyone doing. He missed his parents a lot.

He didn't dwell on the thought too much. He figured that it was almost time to go back to the town center anyway. As he dropped from the roof of the lighthouse, he decided to take a detour to the fishing port and see the businesses going on.

But as soon as he landed, he heard an explosion. He looked for the source of the explosion and saw a cloud of black smoke rising from the fishing port. It seemed like a boat has exploded. He then remembered that it could be where Raijin’s boat was anchored.

From the distance, he noticed three ships getting closer, and fast. Are those hunters? It seemed the explosion wasn’t caused by those ships as they were still relatively far away.

He noticed that three warships also departed from U.A. headquarters. Maybe those warships will intercept the incoming ships, so Daisuke decided to head to the fishing port instead.

Daisuke focused his mana on his feet and used his power to create a cherry blossom tree to propel himself and get to the fishing port fast.