by Oxford, Rain
“Musi takonate juno hide,” I said, hoping I was quoting Edward right. I didn’t think I needed to learn how to tell someone I had no money at the time, but here I was.
I was startled by the hiss as Shinobu bared every sharp tooth and spit at them, her fur was puffed like an angry cat’s. She was downright pissed off. The men fell back with pure horror on their faces, pointing at her and repeating a phrase. Her hiss grew louder and they were tripping over themselves to get away.
I hurried over to one of the abandoned shops, sat down, and gently pulled her off me. Her hiss died down and her fur settled, but she was still clearly angry. I set her next to me and pet her. “Calm down. They’re gone.” I said. She closed her eyes and nuzzled her nose against my wrist. I could feel her little muscles relax. “Now what happened? Why were they so afraid of you?”
The look she gave me could only be considered a deceptively innocent smile. On a cat/sugar glider/squirrel creature, that was quite disturbing. How can something with such a little head understand what I’m saying?
After a few minutes, I picked her up, stood, and placed her back on my shoulder. Her tail wrapped around my neck again. I was cautious until I came to another fork. Following my instincts, I turned left onto a more populated, where the people were more formally dressed. All I had to do was find my book before anyone spoke to me.
A man purposely blocked my path. He was about Edward’s height and wore a dark green uniform, which included a tight, long-sleeved shirt that had straps on the left side and matching pants. He was unmistakably a Duran version of a cop. Crap.
“Haso ga motaisensu o ideo?” he asked, pointing to Shinobu.
I tried to think of what to say, but came up blank. The cop repeated the question. Shinobu looked up at him, either because of his loud voice or my sudden tension, but she was unimpressed. He repeated his question again, louder and angrier.
Divina’s sweet voice rang out from behind me and all my tension melted away. She stopped beside me and Shinobu stood, perfectly balanced. Divina reached out and stroked her under the chin before regarding the cop.
“Haso ga anago?”
Instead of answering, she reached into her bag. It crossed my mind that she should try the decoy meat. After a few seconds of searching, she pulled out a small card. He took it rudely before she could hand it over, but she just smiled. There was a look of disappointment on his face as he handed the card back
“Ema ideo,” he said coldly.
“Mowa,” she answered, picked up Edward’s bag, and dropped the card into her backpack. The officer was still glaring at us as we left.
As soon as we were out of earshot, Divina eyed Shinobu thoughtfully. I assumed she would ask where I got lost or be mad about it, but she pointed to Shinobu. “Where did you find that?” Her tone was calm and patient.
“In an alley. How did you find me?”
“I discovered you were missing, I looked for you, I found you. You have to get rid of her before we meet up with Kiro. He’ll never get over it. You’re going to make him paranoid.”
“Well… She kind of saved me from being mugged… and from being eaten,” I said. Divina frowned so I explained everything that happened since I got lost, but skimmed over Dios and focused on Shinobu. “I really don’t want to just tell her to go away. Can we at least get her something to eat? Are there humane societies or something around?”
She sighed. “You don’t seem to understand. This thing is very dangerous. Has she bitten you?” she asked. I shook my head. “Did you even wonder about it when she chased off three thieves?”
“Yes, but she wasn’t mad at me.”
“The reason the officer stopped you was because you need a license to keep this type of animal. You are fortunate that I found you in time and that I have a license, and so unfortunate that you found her in the first place. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe Edward will let me keep her if he sees how nice she is.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “Maybe he will be able to explain the word no to you. I told Kiro to go ahead. He was reluctant, but I reminded him about the crowd. Come on, your little friend is making a scene.” She was right; people were staying far away from us.
I was more worried about them overhearing English. “Aren’t you curious as to where I was for more than a day?”
“I know. You were with Nano on Dios.”
Of course she knew that; it was the only part I told her. I just figured she would want to know what I did on Dios or what Nano might have told me since I was there so long. “I got to meet Nano’s nephew, who’s a void.”
“Yeah, you probably shouldn’t tell Kiro you got involved with a political assassination attempt, or with Adre. In fact, you probably shouldn’t tell Kiro anything more than you had a nice day with Nano looking at maps and reading culture and history books. Books are sa… never mind.”
“Were you about to say that books are safe?” I wanted to know who told her what happened on Dios, but figured she wouldn’t tell me if I asked.
“Yeah, but that would be a lie,” she answered.
This street consisted mostly of businesses and we soon arrived at one where Edward waited. He was already staring at Shinobu as we approached him. “Divina,” he said.
“I tried; he wouldn’t give her up. He said she saved him from being mugged.”
“It ate the thieves?” he asked. “Where did you find this thing?”
“She found me. She hasn’t done anything to hurt me and I’d really like to keep her. You have Tibbit and I had to get rid of Dorian. She can’t be very messy. Please can I keep her?” I asked.
Edward reached for her quickly and she let out a fierce hiss, which Edward returned with a growl.
“Stop,” I told her. She looked at me. “He’s friendly, so you be good.”
She reached out again and touched my cheek. “Good,” she said. I looked at Edward.
“No,” he growled. “I would let you have a dragon if you wanted, but not this. I don’t care if it’s nice to you; it’ll eat you while you’re sleeping. This is not luck; you are cursed. You don’t understand what this thing is, do you?”
“Of course not. Foreigner, remember?”
“This creature is what started leprosy on your world. Its bite is much worse here. People refer to it as the Dark God’s favorite assassin. It had to have escaped from experimentation on Canjii.”
“Well, good, maybe they got rid of the leprosy stuff,” I smiled. Edward’s glared, but I was used to his glare by now. “Can we at least keep her while on Anoshii?”
“She hasn’t bitten him and she really does seem to like him,” Divina said.
“No. Get rid of it.” Anger was seeping through his control and I discovered that I wasn’t completely immune to his glare.
I knew this wasn’t the time to argue. If I learned anything since meeting Edward, it was that he was reasonable. Unfortunately, my future was questionable and Edward didn’t need anything to make his job harder right now.
I took her to the side of the building and I knelt down in a patch of grass. “You can’t come with me anymore.” She hopped off my shoulder and looked at me. “Don’t be mad at Edward; he’s just trying to protect me. There’s got to be someone who can take care of you. Maybe the next time I’m in Anoshii, I’ll be good enough with magic that Edward will let me keep you. So, if you haven’t found someone by then…” She was frowning. I stood and stepped back, but she took a step forward. “No. You can’t come with me.”
I returned to Edward and Divina before I allowed myself to look back. Shinobu was still where I left her, watching me.
Divina wrapped her arm around my waist. “It’s okay. You’ll see her again. Kiro’s really just upset because some red-head evil girl violated his cards.”
Edward looked tired.
“Did you get the papers?” Divina asked. Edward lifted the flap of his bag to reveal a small stack of papers in between our books. “Good. Let’s get something to ea
t.”
“How long was I gone?” I asked.
“It’s been nearly one Duran day. Kiro returned this morning, and I got us a room at an inn,” Divina answered.
“Wait, returned from where? Where did you go?”
“I had to go to Earth to take care of something, which turned out to be nothing. I’m pretty sure that it was a stall tactic from Vretial’s little pets in order to leave you vulnerable while they searched Duran.”
“But I wasn’t on Duran. Nano has great timing.”
“Actually, I think it was his god that took you to Dios. I’m pretty sure Nano just wanted to meet you,” Edward said.
On the way, Divina and Edward argued over where to eat. We passed through the same streets several times before they finally stopped. They were now speaking Sudo and their voices were higher than I was comfortable with, but no one was paying them any attention. I guess food arguments were normal amongst sago.
Finally they settled their argument and took off in one direction. Judging by Edward’s exasperation, Divina won. While the place we arrived at was similar in appearance to the other buildings, it was larger and seemed sturdier. The first thing I noticed after Edward opened the door was that it was fairly dim.
The floor was hard, black wood with dirt and smears. Five durable looking dark, wood, round tables, each with a small lamp and four wooden chairs, littered the room. The ceiling was low and we had to step down when we entered. At the far end of the restaurant was a long bar, lined with chairs, and a sliding door on either side. The wall behind it opened to a grimy kitchen with old stoves and older cooking tools. Three people served food at the bar; people had to go and get their own food. There were ten customers, and only two of them were women.
Divina nudged me up to the bar behind Edward. He spoke to one of the men who served food. The man nodded, said something, and then directed us through one of the doors. When he slid the door open, it revealed only a small wooden staircase; one of those rotting ones found in a basement.
We followed him up the stairs into a hallway lined with sliding doors about ten feet apart, with a large window at the end of it.
“Hya no sanya juuni oteka,” the man said, then quickly left.
Obviously this wasn’t a restaurant that expected tips.
On each door was a sudo word, which I assumed were numbers, because Edward and Divina had no problem finding the correct door. Inside was a fully enclosed booth with a table and bench seating. There was only a little space between the door and the seats. A small lantern sat lit on the table. Edward took a seat on the left and Divina sat on the other side, so I was able to sit next to her.
Edward slid the door shut. “What do you want?” he asked me, pointing to the door.
I was surprised to see that the menu was actually painted on the door. It was color-coordinated and very stylish, but I couldn’t read any of it. There were five columns and a listing across the top.
“These are all listed according to flavor.” He pointed to the one furthest right. “Spicy…” he pointed to the one on its left, “sweet…” he pointed to the next one, “salty… meaty… and…”
“Kind of sour. It’s like a soy and honey flavor,” Divina finished. Edward nodded. “And the row across is drinks.”
“Do they have kamitsue?” I asked.
She pointed to one of them and leaned over me slightly to do so. “What do you want to eat?”
“Meat. Not meat-flavored stuff, just meat. Something I don’t need to eat with a spatula,” I said. She frowned. “I can’t eat with the eating utensil.”
“You just have to get used to it. Speaking of adapting, how is the gravity?”
There’s a lot of it. “I haven’t thought of it in a while. I actually like the air better, but pollution is no excuse not to have television. I’ve missed all my late-night shows.”
Divina patted me on the arm and Edward pulled out the papers. “Did you get the laws?” she asked him.
He separated a tiny part of the stack and handed her the larger part. I was able to tell that the writing was vertical and, by the way she traced her fingers, written from right to left. “What are they?” I asked as she went further down the list.
“Okay. In Anoshii… Don’t kill. Don’t steal. You need a license to sell any magic or weapons. You need a title of at least third degree to sell anything in public. You’re on first degree. Don’t carry medicines outside your title---”
“Can you just tell me what applies to me?”
She went silent again. Edward filled out papers with a pen as Divina read rules. “You don’t have to have any minimum title to buy weapons or magic below class three.”
“Which includes what?”
She paused for a minute to think. “Guns, knives, daggers, swords, and bows are all okay. Incinerators, atomic bombs, explosives that reach over a hundred feet, and bio-weapons are not. Protection spells, elemental spells, curses, and potions are fine. Mind-altering spells are not.”
“Curses are not legal,” Edward corrected.
She shrugged. “That never stopped me. You have to master the manipulation of fire and you have to be a licensed trainer to own a dragon. Kiro has one if you wanted to take up his offer,” she smirked.
Yeah, that’s what I needed; a living, giant flame thrower that can get angry.
“You can’t buy any magic without your mentor’s permission if you are an apprentice in magic.”
Edward groaned. “They passed that law?”
“Years ago. Don’t be so ancient.” She read through more. “You must have at least a fifth degree title to invent anything that can cause genetic mutation or that controls another person’s will, and you must have it registered within fifty days of creation.”
“I thought Duran was old technology.”
“No. Duran doesn’t have cars, electricity in many places, or most of the things on your world that cause pollution. We don’t have wars with weapons that destroy the world. The world is rather peaceful; there are no mind-destroying religions or nationalism. Rules are put in place for people, not some government or king.”
“Then what is the king for?”
“He sets the rules the people want and need. You earn titles like privileges here. The murderers and serious law breakers are separated and usually forgotten about. Unlike on Earth, people on Duran are not trying to screw everyone else over.”
“Why can’t Tiamat do anything about that on Earth?”
Divina shrugged sadly. “She can only create the humans. She gave them free will and they do what they will with it. She can either let it go on or take it away. Someday, they may end up like sago… if they don’t kill themselves first.
“Anyway, Duran doesn’t have the same technology, but it’s far more advanced. However, only those who earned the right to use it may do so. Anoshii bans magic for the good of the people, but you can earn the right to use it for certain matters, such as business. That goes the same with technology. If there was a fight for honor or women or magic or whatever, you can’t use technology that can hurt each other or others.”
“What, other than the law, stops people from doing it?”
“Nothing. Just like on your world. The laws make it very difficult to get a hold of things like that, and they are very strict on those who do break the laws.”
“Do you know what you want to eat?” Edward asked Divina without looking up from the packet.
“Yeah.”
Edward pushed the door open and a few seconds later, a waiter appeared. Divina ordered, Edward ordered, and then Edward ordered for me, still without looking up. In fact, his face slowly got closer to the papers as he wrote. The waiter repeated back the order and left.
Edward slid the door shut. “When they talk about the Jeno period, they mean the second one, right?”
Divina glared at him. “The third! You’re so old,” Divina said. He ignored her. “I need to look over those when you’re done.” She looked back at the laws. “You’re no
t allowed to marry as an apprentice. Your mentor can stop you from passing or completing your apprenticeship for a whole bunch of reasons.”
“Have you ever stopped an apprentice, Edward?”
“That’s not my name. I have only once done something that drastic to one of my apprentices, and I had no other choice. I couldn’t teach him in prison.”
My eyes widened. “What law did he break?”
“What law didn’t he break?” Divina asked. She leaned towards me casually and my heart skipped a beat. “He tried to take over the world. He might have, too, if Kiro and I didn’t put him down.”
“Put him down?” I asked weakly.
“We tracked him down, broke down his defenses, and destroyed his mind. Kiro hated it. Kiro rescued Kame from Earth. Some crazy guy had kidnapped Kame when he was only six and killed his parents and older sister in front of his eyes. He abused the little boy. Kiro found Kame when he was eleven and brought him back here. He was very powerful but also very unstable and was already losing his conscience. Kiro tried to save him, but it was too late. At sixteen, the kid was sentenced to life on Canjii.”
“Stop talking about him like he was bad,” Edward said. He finally looked up and his expression was irritable. “He was a good person who was tortured until he didn’t know what was right and wrong. The only person he ever wanted to hurt was the one who he had every right to kill in the worst possible way.” He went back to his work.
“You do remember that he tried to kill you, right?”
“I remember that he cried and begged me not to stop him when he did. You would understand if you ever took an apprentice you thought would succeed.”
“I always believed in my apprentices,” she said, insulted.
He frowned at her. “All two of them? Are you referring to the one you had for six days or the one who mysteriously disappeared? There’re rumors about what happened to him.”
And then they were arguing in Sudo again, except this time, they were angry.
About ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Edward and Divina both instantly took neutral expressions and Edward opened the door. The waiter was back with a large platter of food. After the distribution was done, I had a plate, a drink, and the little spoon thing. On my plate were three large slabs of meat that looked barbequed. Edward had the same thing, while Divina had several different kinds of food on her plate.
