Like the morning before, Kenzo woke up to a familiar face.

Glaring at him from above was Theo, who wore his usual gloomy expression.

“The kids are leaving now,” Theo said.

“What?” Kenzo said, still dazed from his sleep.

“The kids, their leaving the ship right now,” Theo replied.

Kenzo sat up and looked around. There were people still sleeping, so he wondered how early in the morning it was.

“Why?” Kenzo asked.

“There’s a place Lady Social sends the kids she picks up. We’re at the island right now,” Theo said.

He then walked to the entrance and looked at Kenzo. “Hurry up, they are waiting for you.”

Once they made it to the deck, a few Hunters—including Bron and Vic—were watching something from the side of the ship. Just like Theo had said, they were now at an island with the two other captain ships docked nearby.

“Where’s Kenzo?”

After hearing his name be called, Kenzo peeked over the side of the ship next to Bron. He saw Lady Social with the kids down below on the island. It looked like the children had been crying as they were wiping their red eye’s dry.

“There he is!” said the small girl, as she pointed at him.

Lady Social turned and saw him looking down. She then waved him to come down.

Theo walked up to Kenzo. “What’s taking you so long. Go say bye already.”

With the pressure on him to go down, Kenzo soon found himself walking across the ramp connected from the ship to the island. The children swarmed him within seconds and mumbled words of farewell to him.

There wasn’t much for him to say as a woman soon came to take the children to their new homes. As the two young boys walked back to Lady Social, the small girl stayed and looked up at Kenzo.

“Will we see you again?” she asked.

“…I’m not sure,” Kenzo said.

The girl looked at the other children—who all nodded at her. She turned back to Kenzo and put her hands into a rock paper scissor stance.

“If I win, promise to come back,” she said.

Kenzo looked at Lady Social who just smiled as the other kids with her eagerly awaited his answer. After a few seconds of deciding, Kenzo also put his hands into a stance. A bright smile formed on the girls face as she excitedly got ready to play.

The match started, with the first round ending in a draw. Right after, the second round also ended in another draw. Her hands shaking, the girl nervously got into position to start the third round.

Within seconds, the results were now in front of them. The girl had chosen paper, and Kenzo had chosen rock.

She had won.

Her eyes shined as she stared at their hands. The other children began to cheer, which caused her to snap out of her shocked state.

“So you promise to come back!?” the small girl said, as she started to tear up.

“Y-Yeah. Okay. I promise then,” Kenzo replied.

Even with the children wanting to linger, it was soon time for them to leave. Kenzo watched them walk off, with a new promise formed and a sense of sadness somewhere in his heart.

Lady Social then walked past him toward the ship.

“Hey Kenzo,” she said.

He turned round and saw her smiling while she mimicked his rock paper scissors gesture.

“Great reaction speed,” she said.

Kenzo then watched as she returned to the ship—now wondering if she was able to see what he did.

“Out the way.”

Suddenly, one of Lady Social’s men barged him out the way—carrying a large barrel onto the ship. The man was followed by his associates who were also carrying large barrels, as well as crates. As they walked past, Kenzo could smell alcohol lingering from inside them. With the sheer amount they were bringing on board, he wondered why they would need so much.

This question was answered when all three ships had sailed off again.

Standing in a corner next to a crate was Kenzo, as he watched a party being thrown on the ship. It had been stocked with new food, and just like he had smelled, lot’s of alcohol.

A musician had boarded from Captain Williams ship and was now singing songs while playing a lute. Whether they were singing, dancing, bantering or just laughing, the ship was now in a full blown celebration between all crews.

What exactly they were celebrating was something Kenzo was unsure of, but knowing wouldn’t change the fact that he had no reason to join in. The only reason he hadn’t retreated down below was because Vic wanted him to stay at a distance where he could see him.

Vic was at the front of the ship alongside Captain William and Lady Social, as they discussed among themselves as they drank. Kenzo had heard from some people walking past that Captain John was hungover again—which explained why he was nowhere to be seen. It seemed him having a slow start to the day was a common thing due to his excessive drinking.

The party on the ship eventually took a different turn, as all the focus went to what was happening in the middle of the deck.

There was an arm wrestle competition taking place, with most of the hunters gathered round to participate and watch. The atmosphere changed from a cooperative one, to a competitive one as the rival crews faced off against one another.

While that was going on, Kenzo decided to sit and pulled out the piece of paper that he had found last night. He wondered who put it in his pocket and what it even meant.

The title ‘Social Fundamental’ made him feel like someone was making fun of him since he’d been mostly keeping to himself. But even though it did seem quite condescending, he felt like there was more to the paper than that. Even stranger was, there was something comforting about holding it.

“Kenzo.”

“…..”

“Kenzo!”

As he was just beginning to zone out, someone started to yell his name. When Kenzo looked up, he saw it was Theo—calling him over to join in on the game. But with the amount of people gathered there, Kenzo didn’t budge.

Soon, the rest of the group began shouting his name too.

All the attention made him start to nervously sweat. This was exactly why he sat so far away, to avoid something like this happening. But even so, Kenzo felt that this was inevitable, as he found social people like them didn’t spend much time thinking about the feelings of others.

A shadow then appeared over him. When he looked up, Vic was in front of him—with a drink in his hand.

“Come, get up. I can’t have you ruining the mood,” he said.

Kenzo listened and stood up. Vic then took a small step forward. “I can see you like to be by yourself, but you’re now aboard the Unity Cruise and Lady Social has a reputation to uphold.”

Vic then placed his hand on Kenzo’s shoulder. “You’d be doing her a favour if you went over and joined them.”

He then tapped Kenzo’s back, pushing him toward the group.

As Kenzo walked over, he could feel an anger building up inside him. Being constantly forced to go against his own rule of not getting involved was becoming a painful experience.

“Alright! Who’s brave enough to face the newcomer?” one of the hunters said, as they mockingly pulled Kenzo in and squeezed his bicep.

“Careful with that one. I heard he got into Lady Social’s room without an invitation,” another said, as he caused the group to laugh.

Throughout the commotion, Kenzo had a dead look on his face. It felt like he was a doll being pushed around, and was being used for entertainment. He wondered why Theo—who didn’t seem the partying type—would bring him into this mess.

But when Kenzo looked over to him, it was clear he was intoxicated as his cheeks were bright red.

“He’s a skinny fellow, so let’s put him up against the weakest one here!” someone shouted.

They all started to debate on who was the weakest among them. However, while they bickered on, one of them pointed off toward the decks stairs.

“How about her?” they said.

When they all turned round, Jetta had emerged from below deck.

She walked past Vic—who was still standing where Kenzo had sat, and snatched his drink out of his hand. But before he could retaliate, a whistle came from the front of the ship. It was Lady Social—sharply glaring at Vic. Seeing this, he backed down and let Jetta walk to the group.

The group watched as Jetta gulped the drink and walked up to the crate they were arm wrestling on.

“So who’s next? I’ll face anyone here,” Jetta said, as she looked around.

They began to talk among themselves to decide who she should face, but there was a strange atmosphere of uncertainty when doing so.

“Go on kid. You can beat a woman can’t you!” a small hunter yelled suddenly.

Kenzo recognised this man from his first day on the ship. He was the person next to him when they encountered the Captains and their crew fighting on the beach. It was hard to forget a man his size, and with such a goofy grin on his face—just like when they threw the Blinders.

The crowd then cheered on this decision and chanted for them to face each other.

With all the scary large men he could of faced, Kenzo wasn’t sure to feel at ease to be facing her or scared knowing her attitude. Even so, if there was someone there that looked like he could take on in an arm wrestle, she would be on the higher part of the list.

Jetta didn’t say a word and was the first to sit down next to the crate. The group then pushed Kenzo toward the other chair and made him sit.

There was a stare off as Jetta looked Kenzo in his eyes. She then leaned her arm out and got into the arm wrestling position. The group called for Kenzo to do the same, so he did. They both then locked hands together and the nerves were beginning to overwhelm him. He knew she could probably feel his hands shaking, but Jetta remained silent and continued to stare straight at him.

A hunter came over, then held their hands in place as he prepared to countdown.

“Kid, send her flying!” cheered the small hunter.

The crowd started to laugh. Jetta didn’t look amused and continued to give a serious stare. The hunter then began to countdown from three. When it reached one, Jetta’s and Kenzo’s grip tightened.

“Go!”

For the first two seconds, Kenzo had somehow managed to keep their hands upright in the same position. He could tell she was strong, but managed to hold on for that brief moment. With the pressure on, Kenzo instinctively looked toward her—as it felt time had slowed down.

But the expression she wore came at a surprise to him. There was a distinct look of shock on her face. Seeing this didn’t fill Kenzo with confidence however, as it was just unsettling to see.

Even so, this expression did not last long. Those first two seconds were the only seconds in which they seemed equal.

Kenzo felt a quick jerk in her direction and lost all the momentum he had built up. A second later, Kenzo’s arm was flat against his side of the crate.

In just about three seconds, Jetta was victorious.

The crowd went wild as they laughed at the speed of his defeat. It was obvious to Kenzo that he was going to lose, but he did not expect it to happen that fast.

While the crowd began to discuss who her next opponent should be, he got up and was pulled to the side by Theo.

“Seem’s you got under her skin,” Theo said, still red in the face.

Kenzo wasn’t sure what he meant. But when he looked over at Jetta, Theo’s remark didn’t seem wrong. She sat there, menacingly staring at him even though she won.

“You’ll understand why she’s mad in a moment,” Theo said.

“Bron, come!” Jetta suddenly shouted.

The crowd began to chant as Bron willingly sat down to arm wrestle. They soon locked hands, and the same hunter from the previous match held their hand in place. As the hunter began to countdown, Kenzo started to feel increasingly more embarrassed as he felt Bron was going to make him look even weaker.

“Three, Two, One, Go!”

A second later, a hand had hit the crate. With his mouth slightly opened, Kenzo looked as the victor confidently soaked in the cheer from the crowd.

Jetta had won, and in only a second.

“Get it now?” Theo said.

It was clear to Kenzo what had happened. Before Bron could get any momentum into his arm, she had already swung her’s at full strength.

“Seems you were able to see it,” Theo said. “It’s a woman thing. You’ll tend to see they all have fast reflexes like that. But Jetta is sorta in a league of her own.”

He then patted Kenzo on the back. “So you did quite well. If you look around, you’ll see I’m not the only one who’s impressed with your match.”

When Kenzo looked up, he noticed Lady Social, Captain William and Vic were all looking at him.

“Ow.”

The crowd suddenly went silent. Everyone—including Kenzo—was now looking at Bron who had let out a groan. However, it was done in an unexpectedly high pitched voice.

“Still got a little girl stuck in your stomach Bron?” a hunter said, causing the group to laugh.

Kenzo looked at Theo in disbelief. He just realised this was the first time he had heard Bron say anything, but to hear such a squeaky voice come from a large man like him was puzzling.

“What?” Theo asked. “Oh, his voice? Yeah, that’s why he doesn’t talk much.”

A fuss then began as the hunters argued who would challenge Jetta next. But the commotion was short lived, as someone else had appeared from below deck.

Captain John.

The voices quietened as he began to walk toward the group. It got even quieter as the musician also stopped playing their lute. With each step, a creek from the floor board could be heard as he approached closer. As the creeks finally stopped, he was now right in front of them.

They all opened up a space between him and the arm wrestling crate. Bron had soon gotten up and merged into the crowd. Captain John then placed himself into his chair and looked over to Jetta. After a few seconds, she too stood up and walked off to the side of the ship.

Like usual, Captain John then took a large swig of alcohol from a bottle he was carrying. Kenzo wondered what was going on and why the captain had just randomly taken a seat.

But then, he felt a hand firmly place itself onto his shoulder.

“Excuse me.”

The voice was one he knew. It belonged to Captain William.

Kenzo turned his head and noticed everyone had already moved out of the way. So he too—quickly sidestepped to allow the captain to walk through.

Captain William then took a seat in the chair Jetta was sitting in. The captains were now facing one another without saying a word.

Their hands then clashed as they got into the arm wrestling position. The hunter who did the countdowns moved in, and held both of their hands. He slowly looked at both captains who seemed ready and started to countdown.

“Three.”

But it wasn’t the hunter that said this, it was Captain William. He had for some reason cut of the hunter before they could start the countdown themselves.

“Two,” Captain John said.

The hunter, who now looked rather intimidated let go of their hand before they had even finished the countdown.

“One,” both the captains said.

And without saying go, they both tightened their grip and put their full strength into their arms. The crate began to shake as they both struggled to gain an advantage. Captain William held a steady grip while Captain John alternated between moderate to full effort—clearly trying to catch his opponent of guard.

After a few seconds of this technique, Captain John had gained the upper hand against Captain William. Williams hand was moving closer and closer to his side of the crate as John continued to alternate his strength.

But overtime, things started to balance out as it seemed he could not maintain that level of sporadic energy for too long.

A few more seconds passed and Captain William had now gained the upper hand, as he continued to maintain a consistent pressure on Captain John.

Kenzo marvelled at the match. It was even more entertaining than he thought it would be. It was like the essence of who these two leaders were could be seen just from how they arm wrestled.

But the atmosphere soon began to change. A tension took over the ship, as the rival crews watched their respective captain. Lady Social’s crew looked like they were preparing for something as they too cautiously watched.

After some observation, it became clear to Kenzo what this match was about to lead too.

A fight between the two crews.

However, something soon came to diffuse the situation. It was music, being played at the front of the ship.

When Kenzo looked toward the ships front, he saw Lady Social playing a violin. She was playing a calm song that seemed to have soothed the mood of everyone nearby.

The ship was now focusing on her and her alone. Even the captains—who’s hands were still holding each other were paying attention to the song.

But after everyone's attention was fully on her, she stopped playing.

Lady Social then took a deep breath, and started to play her violin again. The next song however wasn’t a calm one, but was one much catchier in a rather captivating way. This song was one the hunters seemed to know as they looked at one another and slowly began to nod to the tune.

She then began to sing and Captain Williams musician started to play along.

The song was about a female hunter gathering allies to join her on a quest to retake a distant land from an ‘enemy’. When the hunter went to different locations, she asked the people she met if they would join her in her journey.

As the song went on, Lady Social began to sing the main chorus of this tale. This part of the song was where the female hunter would ask the hunters to join her.

“YES!”

Suddenly, Kenzo could hear the voices of the hunters from the other two ships. It seemed they could hear the song and were singing along to the main chorus. This had a ripple effect and caused all the hunters on Lady Social’s ship to also sing along.

With the crowd now singing and also dancing, the captains released their grip from one another. They then stood up and briefly looked at each other, but did not exchange any words. This situation Kenzo himself had experienced many times with his mother. He could tell they wanted to say something, but chose not to.

Captain John then began to also sing and joined the crowd. Captain William walked off toward the stairs and Jetta who was watching from the side joined him.

“Why’d she change the words. Wasn’t the hunter in that song a man?” Jetta asked.

“We both know she loves to make everything about her,” Captain William replied.

They both then went under deck.

As the party raved on with a new burst of energy, Kenzo was pulled to the side by Theo.

“I’ve been thinking about how you got here,” he said.

Theo then pointed at the cabin doors. “The orphan girl said she first saw you in a room in there. Well that was Lady Social’s quarters, which is off limits to anyone but her. Don’t you think it’s strange that you woke up in there?”

This was something Kenzo hadn’t thought about. Randomly waking up on this ship was weird enough—but just like Theo was saying—awaking in that room was even weirder.

“Maybe Lady Social knows more than she’s letting on,” Theo said.

He then nodded at Kenzo and walked off. It wasn’t clear why he told him that, but now it had planted a new question in Kenzo’s head. Maybe there was something in that room that could answer how he got here.

Maybe, it would help him see his mother again.

After awhile, Kenzo noticed Vic didn’t seem to be paying much attention to him, so he retreated back to the corner he sat in earlier. But as he sat down, he was approached by Lady Social who had finished playing her song.

“Not enjoying the party?” she said with a smile.

She then sat next to him and looked at the crowd.

“Do you see it?” she asked. “It’s just like the children. For a moment, their more focused on having fun together than fighting one another.”

As Kenzo looked forward, he knew this was an interesting turn of events. The crews no longer looked like rivals but rather friends enjoying an occasion together.

“What do you think it would cost for the future to look like this?” Lady Social asked, as she stared off into the distance.

Kenzo didn’t respond.

This was something he had never thought about, not even in his own world. But his silence was followed by a silence of her own, so he looked at her to see why.

It happened once again.

There was a tear, however this time it came from Lady Social’s uncovered eye. But unlike before, this one freely flowed out as she didn’t attempt to hide it.

She looked over at Kenzo. “Look’s like a part of me still hadn’t made up it’s mind.”

Lady Social slowly wiped the tear from her face and stood up. But as she started to walk off she turned around.

A flask came flying at Kenzo from her hand. When he caught it, he realised it looked like the one Captain John had given him. After checking his pocket, he noticed the flask was gone.

“Captain John never shares his drinks Kenzo. Keep it safer or I’ll be tempted to drink it myself next time,” she said, as she smiled and walked away.

Kenzo took another look at the flask. He then looked up at the people having fun. Now in the crowd—was Lady Social—holding Bron’s hands as she danced with him. There were others dancing too, with their arms crossed around each others shoulders while they sang.

Soon, Kenzo had opened the flask and started to drink what was inside. It had a really unpleasant taste, but wasn’t bad enough for him to spit it back out. After drinking enough, he closed it and put it back in his pocket.

A few moments later, Kenzo started to tap his feet to the music.