Dark King

Yawning, I pushed off the heavy blanket covering me. I had a moment of confusion before I remembered I had escaped Mary Geoise. On the table next to me was a set of clean clothes. Putting on the clothes, they were a little tight, but otherwise, it was a decent fit.

"Oh, you're finally up. You've slept through most of the day. I was worried that you had fallen ill." Shakky said as she came down from the stairs leading to the rest of the house.

"Sorry. Thanks for the clothes and the blanket."

Nodding, Shakky smoked her cigarette as she opened the fridge to start cooking something, "Hold on! I'll make lunch. It's the least I can do to repay your kindness."

"You could always pay me if you truly cared." I acted like I didn't hear her as I looked over what I could make.

On earth, besides working myself to the bone and reading manga, I spent my free time cooking and watching cooking shows. I made a simple seafood stirfry with a fried egg on top.

"Here you go!" I passed Shakky her bowl as I started in on my own. The meal brought back memories of me, pulling all-nighters in college to study after partying too much.

Sighing, I finished my bowl and waited for Shakky, "Do you know when your husband is getting back? I want to see him."

"He spends most of his time gambling and drinking. He might no be back for months," Shakky responded in between bites. "But what's the rush? You're a young kid. You have all the time in the world."

"I never liked waiting. Do you have any clue where Rayleigh might be?" I said as I looked over at Shakky.

"Well, he does like the Sabaody Park. You can try there, but you will have to pay the entrance fee."

At the mention of money, I looked around for my bag filled with gold, " Shakky-san, you didn't happen to move my bag anywhere."

"Don't worry. I didn't take any of your gold. It's upstairs. Let me go get it for you." Much to my relief, my gold was all there. I exchanged some of my gold with Shakky, so I had some pocket money.

"See you later, Shakky. Thanks for the bed."

Shakky's bar was in mangrove 13, and the amusement park was in mangrove 30-39. It was only a short jog. Paying the entrance fee of 1000 Beri, I started my search for Silver Rayleigh.

I tried every restaurant I could find but no such luck, after an hour of searching I tabled my search and enjoyed the amusement park. In seconds my hands were occupied with cotton candy and funnel cake.

And I could never grow too old for a roller coaster. I had everything I need for a great time. The only bad part was I couldn't buy beer. Just as I was about to back for my third serving of funnel cake, I heard a woman scream.

'Should I? I might make the situation worse. But on the other hand, It might be fun.' My mind made up. I made my way through the crowd.

A small girl was curled up in a ball as two grown men stood over her. At first, I didn't know what was happening, but I saw that the girl's hands were webbed, and her teeth distinctly sharper when I looked closer.

" Oh yeah, there's crippling racism in this world as well. Is it a universal law that two races can't get along? Maybe it's some form of survival instinct..."

As I pondered the mysteries of the universe, I broke through the crowd entering the circle that formed around the trio.

Crouching in front of the fish-man child, I held out my hand, "Is your mom or dad around here somewhere."

The girl shook her head as she averted her eyes, "Do you want to go find them." When she nodded, I picked her up in my arms.

Turning around to leave, I was blocked by the two men who thought it was okay to bully a child, "What are you, some fish lover."

I could feel the girl tremble in my arms and my protective instincts kicked in, "While I'm not a pedophile, I don't hate children. You've proved how big your balls are by beating up a child, so move before I make you."

The men's faces snarled like I just force-fed them horse shit. Like the bulls they were, they charge straight ahead.

Sighing, I pointed my hand at them before piercing both of their knees with a bone shard. The brutes collapsed as I commanded my bone to return to my body.

"Damn you, fish-fucker!!" I was surprised at their pain tolerance, 'That's the power of anger for you.'

Stepping over the bawling man-babies, the crowd parted for me as they were still wondering what happened.

It wasn't long before I found the girl's parents, as I thought a Fishman and a human woman stood outside the entrance to the park asking anyone if they had seen their daughter.

"Mama!! Papa!!" The girl ran over to her parents as they heard her voice. Leaving the family alone, I gave up on my search for Rayleigh.

Whistling as I walked back to Shakky's, I passed by a bar and just so happened to see a man wearing a large silver hooded cloak.

"I finally found you, you son of a bitch."

Walking over to the bar, I opened the door and sat down across from the Dark King, " You know how long I've been looking for you."

Rayleigh narrowed his eyes, "I don't know you, at least I don't think I do."

"I need you to teach me, Rayleigh. I met your wife, and she said you might agree to teach me. She even let me stay the night free of charge."

The Dark King looked surprised at that, "Shakky, must like you. Well, let's get going." Silver Rayleigh quickly stood up and left the bar.

I was wondering why he left so quickly when I heard the bartender shouted.

"Stop him. He hasn't paid his bill!"

Groaning, I jumped up from the table and ran out the door after Rayleigh, "You left me for dead!! How could you do that?!"

Rayleigh just laughed, "It's more exciting this way." I groaned again and I started to regret my decision.